I Want You
by imperial violets
Summary: Bella's last summer before college was supposed to be great, but she only experiences disappointment. The world that she values falls around her and Edward is there to help her pick up the pieces. Problem is, he only sees her as a friend.  BxE, AU, AH, OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**So, here's my new story let me know what you think by leaving a review.**

**Chapter 1— Sometimes I feel Like A Motherless Child**

_Sometimes I feel like a motherless child _

_Long way from my home _

_Sometimes I wish I could fly_

_Like a bird up in the sky _

_Closer to my home_

_Motherless children have a hard time _

_Motherless children have such a really hard time _

_Sometimes I feel like freedom is near _

_But we're so far from home_

**Van Morrison—Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child**

Realtor extraordinaire, Ms. Renee Dwyer Swan's bedroom escapades awakened Bella again for the third time this week. Ms. Swan, who Bella more often than not referred to as 'mother', was one of the cities prime realtors for new divorcés.

She provided an exceptional service of finding some of the more desired apartments for the newly single men, so that they reclaim their independence and start anew from a marriage that should have never taken place. Once the deal was closed a free added perk was offered: an re-initiation into the world of Bachelorhood—the offer was always taken.

That was the case tonight, when Bella was woken to loud banging noises and moaning coming down the hall. Like she did for the multitude of previous nights, she stuck in her ear buds and turned up her iPod until the noises coming from her mom's room were drowned out.

She never liked it when her mother brought her work home with her. She knew it was wrong to bring strange men into a family home where an seventeen year-old resided. But it had been like this for the past seven years of her life and she only had one more night to endure. Tomorrow, Bella would be off to visit her father back in her old town. There she would spend her last summer before her future took over and returned back to the city to start her freshman as an art major at Columbia.

She screamed into her pillow out of frustration and then punched it a few times before lying back down and stared into the darkness of her room. Eventually, she fell back into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, Bella sat at the breakfast bar when she heard the evidence of her mother's romp tiptoe down the hall. He hadn't noticed her and normally Bella avoid any contact with her mother's conquers, but as it was her last day she decided to have a little bit of fun.

"Good morning," she chirped from the kitchen.

Mr. Bachelor was startled as he was attempting to put his socks and shoes back on his feet while standing. It was well after eight so she knew he was late for work. His head spun around until he made eye contact with Bella and gaped.

Bella new that look all to well, she was a spiting image of her mother, same petit figure with slight curves. Her coloring may have been off as Bella had dark long hair, a pale complexion and chocolate colored eyes, but her features were her mother's.

Fortunately, it was that the only thing she acquired from her mom. Everything else, her allergies, demeanor, and likes, came from her father's side of the family.

"I- I'm late for work," he stuttered to the younger version of woman he has sex with last night.

"Have a good day at work then," she called out, but he didn't hear her as he quickly made his escape out the front door of the apartment.

She finished up her bowl of cereal and placed it into the dishwasher when her mother came in.

"Good morning, honey."

Bella couldn't hide the resentment in her tone, "Morning."

"I guess you bumped into…" she trailed off for a split second trying to remember a name, hoping that Bella wouldn't notice, but she had, "Marcus."

"No mom, you bumped into him numerous times, he ran past me out the door."

"Bella, I do not appreciate your tone."

"Well, I don't not appreciate my mom bringing in men in the middle of the night and being woken up to hear you have sex with them."

"Are we starting this argument again," she sighed.

"Nope."

"Good. She took a breath straightened her self out and spoke like the previous conversation never existed, "Now, I was hoping to spend some quality time with you before you left."

"How about we cab over to the train station, I'm leaving in about an hour."

"You mean your going today?" Already?"

"You got me the train ticket mom?"

"I thought it was next week."

"No, I told you I would be leaving so I could be there before the Bread and Honey Festival on the forth of July."

"No, you said you were leaving after commencement."

"Yeah, I did. Commencement was last week." It was always difficult for her mother to keep tack of days or what she said. Most of the time she never really remembered what she said seconds ago. Her head was always somewhere else.

"Why wasn't I there?" she asked accusingly.

"You said you had a very important closing that day and after you found out that dad was coming, 'There was no way in…'"

"'…Hell I would be in the same room as him,'" her mom finished for her. "Right I forgot."

"Yeah, you did," Bella replied sadly. She always forgets.

She never really understood why her mother felt jilted by her father. She was the one that left him and moved to the city to find herself, because the small town life was suffocating her desire to be somebody.

"I'm sorry, B."

"Don't worry about it." Bella, like always, brushed it off.

"You sure you don't want to come back a week before school starts and spend some time together?"

Hell, No! Was what she wanted to say. "I want to spend it in Maine. I don't know if I'll have time next summer, with school and all. Besides I'm going to school here. We can meet up anytime for lunch or I could visit on the weekend." Bella's words were empty promises.

"I guess you're right," her mother replied and went about her morning routine preparing coffee.

Why should she return, when she would be finally free of her mother's behavior? Bella thought to herself. Hadn't it been long enough that she had to endure this? Sure, she had breaks during spring breaks, Christmas', and extended breaks during the summers, when she spent time with her dad and her younger siblings from his second marriage, but seven years had been long enough. So long that the ear buds and iPod had become like a second skin to her. She rarely removed them. Even now she had them in place in her ears with her music playing softly in the background.

_You'll be deaf by the time you're thirty,_ her mother always warned her.

Those were the consequences that Bella was willing to endure if it meant she didn't have to hear things that she shouldn't.

As innocent as Bella was, she was not naïve. She had plenty of indirect education when it came to fornication and the other sex. There were times when she came home late from a friend's house on the weekend, she had caught her mom on numerous occasions entertaining naked men in the nude. Her mother's only excuse was that she forgot that Bella wasn't staying the night at her friend's house.

Also, the hungry glances that Bella got the odd morning from one of her mother's clients when they were leaving, made her stomach churn. What made it worse was that her mother was responsible for bringing them over in the first place.

Her mother was promiscuous and only walked the fine line of becoming a prostitute. Yes, she had a great career as a realtor and her commissions were more than enough to sustain both of them. But it was the closing deal that gave her the referrals from previous clients, without them she would barely make enough to make ends meet and for that she hated her mother and vowed never to be like her.

Bella believed in love and relationships, not the selfish one-night stands she was accustomed to seeing her mother have. She was desperate and ready for love. She wanted to prove to herself that love and sex could be selfless, that it could be something substantial and she hoped that this summer she would be able to experience that. This summer she wanted to loss her virginity to someone she cared about and his feeling towards her would be mutual. It was her right of passage as an adult. At least, that's what she believed.

Bella decided to go back to her room to pack up the last few things she need for the summer and to get dressed. Her mother still hadn't responded to her offer to take her Penn Station and when her mom's cell phone rang she knew it wouldn't happen.

"Oh, I'm going to have to take this B. It's Jared and he promised me a few leads on some condos."

"That's fine," she muttered.

"And I won't be able to take you to that station."

"I figured as much," Bella replied, trying to keep her frustration at bay.

Her mom took the call as Bella left for her bedroom, annoyed again at her mother and her dismissive attitude towards her daughter's last day at home.

At least she knew her friends would miss her for the summer before she rejoined them at college this fall.

In her room she gathered up her remaining art supplies and stuffed them into her case and plugged her iPod back into her laptop to charge it a bit more for her twelve hour trip.

She looked about her room at her belongings and was glad that she had over the course of her senior year in high school detached herself from a majority of her things. Everything that was important to her was packed away in her two suitcases, rucksack, and her large portfolio case. She hadn't the slightest inkling in knowing if all her things summed up to be a lot for her seventeen years of existence or too little.

The only thing that she would eventually come back for would be her winter clothes. She hoped the few warms clothes that she had packed in her bags would be enough to sustain her until Thanksgiving, when her and her mom celebrated by ordering take-out from the middle-eastern restaurant down the street. Instead of turkey with sweet potato, they had shwarma's and tabouli.

When Bella was packed and ready to go, she found her mother on the phone in the living room flirting with a potential client. She cringed at the sight of her mother sitting in an armchair acting as if the new divorcé was sitting right in front of her. Her mom looked up and saw Bella crossed armed standing at the doorway waiting for her to finish up so she could say goodbye.

Bella had lost all patience with her and was going to give her only another minute before she left with out saying anything.

"That's sweet of Bradley in recommending me," her mom cooed into the phone. "How about I give you a call this afternoon to set up a meeting and discuss what you're looking for." Renee raised a finger towards Bella and smiled sheepishly to indicate she was almost done. "Of Course," she continued, "but right now I have some business to attend to."

Bella shook her head out of frustration and stormed out of the room to wait by the front door, and mimicked her mother's voice snidely. Of course, that's all Bella was to her, business. Another job that Renee fought for heavily in family court when her parents got divorced. And the only reason she did that was to get child support from Bella's father. She knew that if her dad wasn't well off in his inheritance or had a good steady career as Police Chief of the Midland police department, her mother wouldn't have bothered in up heaving her from her childhood home in Midland, Maine.

"You're already to go?"

"Yes, mom," Bella replied, stating the obvious.

Her mother studied her at the door, while Bella's foot started to tap, she was impatient to get out. Renee noticed her daughter's poise and chuckled.

"Always in a rush aren't you."

Her statement met no reply.

"Do you have enough money for a cab?"

"Yeah, I took some out from the take out jar."

The take-out jar was financially capable of adorning itself with diamonds. It only existed because her mother's 'work' prevented her from cooking.

She smiled at Bella and went up to hug her. Bella almost gagged at the sickly cologne that still lingered on her mother's body and pulled away quickly. Her mother failed to notice the quick retrieval.

"I'm going to miss you so much, honey."

_No you're not, _Bella said to herself. She knew that her mother would prefer free reign of her house. That way she could conduct business during all hours of the day including Sundays.

"Me too, Mom."

Bella pulled open her door and struggled pulling her suitcases into the corridor. Her mother wasn't even dressed to take her down stairs and help her with her luggage.

"Remember that I love you, she called out to her pretending she was already far away, when she really was on the other side of the door frame. "And make sure to where lots of sunscreen."

"I will."

Bella got to the elevator and pressed the call button. She was pleased to hear it chime close from the floor above her.

"Call me once you get there."

"Will do."

Finally the elevator door slid open and she rushed inside to get away from her mother's well wishes. To her they were just words. Nothing she said meant anything, because she never followed through. Whenever her mom told her that she loved her, Bella did believe to some degree. After all she gave birth to her. But she knew whatever love her mom had in her heart was very little. If Renee did in fact love Bella, she wouldn't have taken her away from her father and life in Midland. She would have become a better role model for her. She would have ceased bringing strange men over and perhaps remember her birthday the odd time.

So with little reluctance, Bella had given up the notion to build any further relationship with her mother and decided to remove herself from the situation her mother had created for her. It was the only thing she could do to avoid becoming like her mom. For the time being she would focus on her summer, and her goal, a possible summer romance. And when school would start she would focus primarily on her future with her mother in the peripheral.

She released a huge sigh of relief when the elevators opened to the lobby of her building, knowing that in a dozen long strides she would be outside the building as a person who didn't reside there anymore.

**A/N:**

**I like to write what I know, and I know the East Coast. I apologize for not making it Forks, Washington. Also, the fictional town of Midland is sunnier than Forks. Besides, it wouldn't make sense if Edward would be shirtless half the time in rainy Washington! :P**

**I will post the next chapter when I can.**

**Please Review**

**iv**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

**Again, Please let me know your thoughts about this story.**

**A special thank you goes out to my beta, Lady Gwynedd (yes, I finally got a beta). Check out her story, **_**The Mail Order Bride.**_** I'm absolutely in love with it. **

**Enjoy,**

**iv**

**Chapter 2—Homeward Bound**

_I'm sitting in the railway station._

_Got a ticket for my destination._

_On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand._

_And ev'ry stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band._

_Homeward bound,_

_I wish I was,_

_Homeward bound,_

_Home where my thought's escaping,_

_Home where my music's playing,_

_Home where my love lies waiting_

_Silently for me._

**Simon and Garfunkel – Homeward Bound**

It took Bella almost twelve hours to get from New York City to Midland, Maine and with each transfer she made, she promised herself to fly out next time.

Bella almost missed her 11:00 train from Penn Station to Boston. Her struggle with her bags from the apartment to the taxi as well as from the taxi to the station took too much of her initial travel time. By the time she made her connection in Boston to Portland, her iPod ran out of power and spent the majority of the time in an Amtrak bathroom charging it.

When Bella got to Portland, it was 7:30 p.m. and she was on her final leg of her journey, at two-hour bumpy bus ride to Midland. She had done the same route for the past six years, three times a year, round trip.

After her parents initially separated, her father moved down to New York for a year. He wanted to try to salvage his marriage by giving his wife what she wanted and to be not too far away from Bella. But eventually he realized that what Renee really wanted wasn't to only live in the city, but to start a new life without him. He relented and granted her the divorce, and after Renee got full custody of Bella, the city became too much for the country boy he was and he went back to Midland where he belonged.

To Bella's dismay, the bus was at its capacity and she found herself sandwiched between an overweight and offensively smelling old man and a window at the back of the bus.

Squeezed between them, she kept her head against the window trying to get away from the man's odor by discreet taking sniffs of the nauseating reticulated air conditioned air and the stale sun baked dust on the window frame.

About quarter to eleven at night the bus pulled into the Midland stop and she quickly hurried off to make sure none of her bags went on with out her and looked for her dad. He was standing outside his car parked on the other side of the street.

She flashed him a huge grin and ran up to hug him, leaving her bag where they were.

"Dad!"

"It's been only a week since I saw you, B."

"Yeah, but it's been a long day. Next time you're picking me up in Portland. I don't think I can handle another bus ride."

He chuckled, "Was it that bad?"

"Please, I want to forget about it."

"Come on, let's get your bags." He crossed the vacant street to help. She looked around the main part of town and smiled to herself at the familiarity of it all. Nothing has changed and nothing ever would in Midland—It's too out of the way to be affected by city life. Although she made a good life for herself in New York and her residence was there, Midland was her home.

"Sue is waiting for you. Seth and Leah tried to stay up but they crashed by nine. They'll be very excited to see you tomorrow morning," her dad stated as he loaded the bags into the trunk of his car.

"I can't wait to see them. I really missed them."

"_We_ really missed you," her dad said and gave her a sad smile.

She gave her dad a heartfelt grin and went around to the passenger door and got inside. After a busy day of traveling she felt content, even if she wasn't home yet.

Her dad got into the drivers seat. "Ready to go home?"

"Yes, please."

She loved and respected her dad. He was always there for her and although they saw each other for a total of three months out of the year. She had built and maintained a strong relationship with him. As far as her stepmother, Sue, she had as much respect for her as her father. They always had always a peculiar relationship, but it worked. Sue wasn't a part of Bella's life for that long, but five years of summer visits was enough to get to know each other. They bonded right away and Sue treated her like a motherly friend. Bella had the best of both worlds when it came to her, a mother that she had always longed for and a confidant that she trusted her secrets with.

Bella's father knew the extents of the havoc she had to endure at home with her mother, but only Sue knew the extent the havoc it wreaked on her mind. She was the only person she could vent to as it was a little embarrassing to talk about it with her friends, even though they knew. If her father found out, he would only become angry. He'd turn into a papa bear threatening to go back to court for custody.

Her home was only a five-minute drive from town, in a small cul-de-sac on the other side of town right before farmlands took over the landscape. She relaxed in her seat looking forward to get home and to be fed and showered before turning in.

"So, did you think about what we discussed at your graduation?" her dad asked as he pulled out onto the road.

This was the last discussion she wanted to have with him. It was the only sore subject between them since her father wasn't so keen on the fact of Bella going to art school.

"Yeah… Um… I don't know if I could do a double major. When would I get the chance to actually paint if I did?

"I know you can do it, B. Being an artist… Well, it's very competitive and it's difficult to earn a steady income. At least with a second major you have something to fall back on.

She heard the speech before. The first time was when she decided to apply; the second was when she got accepted, with a partial scholarship; and the third was at her graduation. Tonight she planned on laying it to rest. She didn't want her summer tainted with this over her head.

"But I don't want to do anything else."

"You really think you're going to paint forever?"

"It's my life."

She loved her dad, but he never really understood her passion for painting. He may have supported her throughout her life with her addiction to all things art. He had even taken her Paris for two weeks when she was sixteen to see the _Mona Lisa_ at the Louvre, but he never really supported her for choosing it as a possible career. Either he didn't believe that she had the talent to be an artist or it was so left of center for him that he didn't believe she could earn a decent income. That's why he believed that it was a right move to get a secondary education for a non-practical career as a fall back.

"Bella, I know it your life. I'm just looking out for your best interest. You-"

"I know, I know," Bella sighed out of frustration. That's why I came up with a compromise."

"Well let's hear it then."

"Let me have this school year as an Art Major. If I can handle the more work I'll declare a second major the following year. It wouldn't put me back if I waited an extra year to declare a second one."

"You got yourself a deal," he said with a smile.

"So you won't bring this up again," she asked suspiciously.

"Nope," he chuckled, "Not until this time next year."

"That's good enough."

They pulled up into the driveway and quickly got out. She looked around her street that was dimly light by the streetlamps. Immediately, her eyes fell on her next-door neighbor's drive way and saw a parked car that didn't belong there

"Since when does Mrs. Cullen drive a beat up Range Rover?" she asked when she reached the front porch.

"It belongs to her grandson, Edward Cullen, who's visiting her for the summer. Stay away from him, he's bad news," her father warned.

The front door swung open and a pregnant Sue stepped out onto the porch. "Charlie," she scolded, "He's not bad news. He's a good kid and he helps out a lot with the kids when I need to run errands. Don't mind your dad, B, he's just being an overprotective father."

"I learnt not to take my dad's advice when it comes to the opposite sex a long time ago," Bella teased.

"That's not very nice, Bella," her father stated.

"He's around your age, you know," she hinted when she embraced her.

"He's two years older. Too old for her," her father snapped.

"What about me then? I'm seven years your junior."

Sue laughed when Charlie wasn't able to reply. Bella knew when her dad had been beat.

"He's starting his third year this fall at Columbia, he's an art major just like you, so you might want to talk to him to get some insider information on professors."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bella giggled, completely aware that Sue was trying to set them up.

"You look like you had a long day," she briefly sniffed Bella, "and what's that smell? You smell like rancid grapefruit?" Sue said.

Bella had no choice but to trust her pregnant stepmother's heightened sense of smell. "Fat, stinky, old man sat next to me on the bus, " she replied.

"Go get yourself showered and changed. I got some left over macaroni and cheese from dinner I could reheat for you."

"Yes, thanks, that would be nice."

Bella made her way downstairs to her bedroom. Her father's house was a back split and the lower level was designated as entirely as her own. It had a full bathroom, a large bedroom with a bay window and a living room that had its own entrance.

She was moved down there from her old bedroom during her spring break this year when Sue found out she was pregnant with baby number three. It took the entire spring break with the help of her dad to get her room looking like she wanted to. And she couldn't have had been more pleased with the final result.

She kept the whimsical theme of her old room, but made it more appropriate for her age. White wainscoting lined the lower portion of the wall and the upper portion was wallpapered in a light blue swirly textured paper that she picked out on a shopping trip with Sue in Portland.

Her furniture was made out of heavy white painted oak that she had since she was a little girl. She smiled when she walked in nothing had changed about it and even though she hadn't stepped into her room in more than three months, it still looked lived in.

All she wanted to do was go to sleep in her inviting double bed, but she was hungry and would probably wake up in the middle of the night looking for something to eat. Bella quickly unpacked and before she stepped into the shower she sent out a quick text to her best friend Alice, who Bella had known since preschool, and let her know that she was finally home for the summer.

After a quick hot shower she changed into some pajama shorts and her Columbia shirt that her dad had sent when he found out that she was accepted and went to the kitchen.

When she got there she caught her dad and stepmother in an affectionate embrace with her dad's hand on her ever-growing belly. She smiled to herself, happy that at least here, in Maine, she had a nice, normal, loving family.

"So did you find out if the baby's a boy or a girl yet?" Bella asked making her presence known in the kitchen.

Sue and her dad quickly broke apart before she answered, "Well the ultra sound technician wouldn't confirm anything, but she did say that she couldn't see signs that it was a boy so we could assume that it's a girl."

"Or a very unfortunate boy," her dad quipped earning a playful slap on the arm from Sue.

"We'll find out for sure next week when the doctor has a look at the video."

"It's a girl," Bella stated.

"What makes you so sure?" her dad asked.

"She doesn't look as tired as when she was pregnant with Seth."

Her father studied Sue for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't see any difference, must be a woman thing."

Before long, Sue shooed him off to bed after reminding Bella's dad that he had to get up early tomorrow.

Once he was out of earshot, Sue placed a plate of macaroni and cheese at the kitchen table. "Sit, eat, and talk," Sue stated, "we have a lot to catch up on."

Bella laughed at her stepmother's eagerness and quickly told her about the ordeal she went through with her mother this morning. Sue responded sympathetically and reassured Bella what she already knew; she wouldn't have to deal with her mother's antics anymore.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" Sue asked stifling a yawn.

They had been in the kitchen talking for over an hour and now it was well after 1:00 am.

"Sleep," Bella sighed tiredly.

"We'll I won't keep you up any longer then. Go to bed and I'll see you in the morning."

"Thanks, Sue. Good night."

Bella excused herself and went downstairs to bed after one more 'welcome home' from her stepmother. She tucked herself in bed and fell into a blissful sleep in a matter of minutes.

**A/N:**

**Please leave me a review, those who do will get a sneak peak at Edward in the next chapter.**

**iv**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**Thank you to my Beta, Lady ****Gwynedd.**

**As promised, Edward is in this chapter. If you know the song, I hope you get a chuckle when Bella sets eyes on Edward.**

**Again, please let me know what you think. I love getting feedback.**

**Enjoy,**

**iv**

**Chapter 3 – Sexy Boy**

_Sexy boy, sexy boy..._

_Où sont tes héros aux corps d'athlètes_

_Où sont tes idoles mal rasées, bien habillées_

_Sexy boy, sexy boy..._

_Dans leurs yeux des dollars_

_Dans leurs sourires des diamants_

_Moi aussi un jour je serai beau comme un Dieu_

_Sexy boy, sexy boy..._

_Apollon deux mille zéro défaut vingt et un an_

_C'est l'homme ideal charme au masculin_

_Sexy boy, sexy boy..._

_**Air – Sexy Boy**_

Bella woke up from the first restful sleep in months and was surprised to find that it was already after 11:00 am. She rarely slept in that late. She smiled to herself as she buried herself deeper into the covers and thought what this summer would bring her. Bella was on a mission. When she finally hopped out of bed she went straight for her cell phone. Alice had returned her text late last night just like she anticipated to let her know that she and the rest of her friends would be at the river after lunch and to meet up with them then.

Bella was looking forward to see all her friends, but first and foremost she wanted to spend sometime with her little sister Leah and her baby brother Seth. She dug through the things she didn't have time to unpack yesterday and pulled out a Hello Kitty gift bag filled with toys that she picked up at the Sanrio store in New York and a reptilian bucket she specifically went to the zoo for Seth. Eager to see them and clad in her Pajamas, Bella quietly made her way upstairs to surprise them.

She heard Seth's voice coming from the kitchen and tiptoed to the entrance to execute a sneak attack on the little monster, but what she saw completely stopped her in her tracks. Sitting at the kitchen table with Seth on his lap was an unknown figure.

He was beyond striking. He looked ethereal and Bella couldn't help herself to do anything else but gape at the celestial being. Unruly bronze hair, a perfect well defined straight nose, soft full lips and a jaw that helped reduce his boyish looks and confirm that he was a man. The only thing Bella couldn't see was the color of his eyes. _Please let him have green eyes_, she prayed to herself.

She watched the two of them together unaware of her presence. He was drawing picture for Seth to color.

"Draw me a frog now," Seth's little voice demanded.

"What do you say Seth?" Mr. Angel asked.

"Pleeeaaase, Edward," Seth begged.

That was the Edward from next door that Sue had mentioned to her last night—the same Edward that her dad told her to stay away from. No wonder Sue reacted like she did when she spoke about him. She knew that Bella would be attracted to him.

Bella was completely awe struck when she heard him chuckle. She studied him a while longer than she should have and became nervous at the thought of being caught.

He looked more like a model for one of the greats than an artist himself. Perfection like that only exists in paintings Bella thought before she reprimanded herself for thinking like that.

She was aware that she either had to make her presence known or sneak back downstairs. She decided on the later since she didn't feel presentable for company. Bella started to slowly back away from the entryway to go back to her room to get dressed, but it was too late.

She heard her kid sister shriek, "Bells!" and ran up and hugged her.

Seth and Edward looked up from what they were doing catching Bella off guard by the hug assault from her little sister, but Bella quickly recovered by ignoring them and focusing on her sister.

"Leah!" Bella got down to her level and gave her a hug.

"I missed you so much," Leah told her, "Mommy let us stay up, but we fell asleep."

"I know. I've missed you too."

Bella noticed Leah's attention drift from her to the Hello Kitty bag that she was carrying in her hand.

"Is that for me?" Leah asked sweetly.

"Didn't I promise you I'd bring you back a surprise?" Bella asked.

Leah nodded her head and Bella passed the gift over to her.

"What do you say?" Edward said from behind Bella.

"Thank you," Leah replied and quickly unwrapped the gift.

Bella got up and turned around only to find Edward standing directly in front of her and in her personal space with Seth in his arms. She would have taken a step back but Leah had planted herself on the kitchen floor right behind her.

He smirked at her as he took in her appearance. Bella immediately blushed and reached out for Seth in order to hide herself behind him, but Seth wasn't having any of it and decided to play coy by hiding his face in Edward's shoulder.

She flushed again from being rejected by her little brother and his preference to stay with Edward.

"Maybe later then," she stated. She hated the fact that she had to get reacquainted with her brother every time she came for a visit.

Edward gave her a small sympathetic smile to soften the blow. "I'm Edward by the way,"

Bella nodded awkwardly when she noticed his green eyes, "Bella." She cursed herself for not putting on a bra before she came upstairs and crossed her arms over her chest to cover herself. She was wearing her t-shirt and shorts from last night, but the way Edward's eyes wandered over her body made her feel naked.

Seth was placed on the floor and stood there shyly eyeing the clear plastic bucket of snakes and lizards. Bella decided to try again and crouched down to his level and silently offered the bucket as a peace offering and apology for not being home enough for him to remember her.

Seth bravely stepped forward and took it from her before retreating back to hiding behind Edward's leg causing Bella to sigh.

"What do you say, little buddy?"

"Thank you," he said quietly and took off for the den with his new toys.

"What's with the "pleases" and "thank yous?" she asked trying to draw his attention away from her body to her face.

"Yeah, um," he swept his hand through his messy hair, "Sue lately became very strict with manners a few weeks ago. Leah had a friend over and he went around and helped himself to whatever he wanted if he couldn't find it he demanded it from Sue, to the point that Seth and Leah started adapting his habits." Edward gave Leah a pointed look before he continued, "Anyway to make a long story short, they can do whatever they want as long as they use their manners—Sue's words, not mine."

Bella was able to picture the incident in her head and her reaction was true to her character, Sue would give the world to those she loved, but she wouldn't be walked upon by anyone.

"That sounds like her," she replied quietly as she stepped around Leah to get behind the kitchen counter to somewhat shield herself and reclaim some of her personal space. She stood there awkwardly thinking what she wanted to eat and blushed furiously when she noticed Edward standing on the other side of the counter grinning.

"Where's Sue?"

"Went grocery shopping. She'll be back in a bit."

"Oh," Bella's face fell a little, "she could have woken me up, I would have watched them," she said to herself. "No offense to you of course," she quickly added, remembering that Edward was there. She picked through the fruit bowl on the counter and decided on an orange.

"None taken, besides she doesn't want to trouble you in playing a "surrogate" during your last summer of freedom," he smirked using air quotes.

"Sue's words again?" she asked sadly.

Edward nodded in reply. Bella was a disappointed with her stepmother for picking Edward over her to watch the kids, but after Seth's reaction to her, maybe Edward did make the better babysitter.

"I wouldn't take it personally, Bella," he said reading her like an open book, "I offered to watch them when ever she needed to run errands.

Bella looked up from peeling her orange. Edward had moved around the counter and was close to her again, was eyeing her shamelessly. Her nervousness caused her to tear the peel of the orange too forcefully and she got a squirt of the rind into her eye.

"Shit, ow," Bella cried out. She tossed the orange on the counter raised her hand to rub her eye, but Edward grabbed it. It caught her off guard.

"Don't rub it. Let it tear. Here," Edward got some paper towel and ran it under cold water before applying it to her eye.

"You need to put a dollar into the swear jar," Leah chirped from behind them.

"Why don't we let this one slide? I'm sure Bella doesn't know that rule yet," Edward still held the paper towel over her eye.

In a span of five minutes, Bella felt out of sorts and out of place. She felt like an intruder. This was not the way she expected her first day to be like; Seth was shy of her, there were a slew of new house rules she wasn't aware of, there was a babysitter that was preferred by her siblings and stepmother over her, and an attack from an orange left her with a pathetic injury that was now being tended to by an angelic college boy from next door.

To make matters worse, the way he hovered over her and held the wet paper towel to her eye made her feel like a little kid. And she wanted to feel anything but because of the way he had said her name, twice. Bella needed to get out of there before things got worse and embarrassed herself even further.

"I think its fine now," she said stepping away and quickly turning around.

"Let me take a look at it."

"No, its fine, I should go get ready," she said hurriedly and rushed down stairs flustered from the situation.

"I'll see you around Bella," Edward called out behind her. She detected a laugh in his voice more than likely caused by him knowing that he got to her.

"Yeah, sure."

When she got to her room she threw herself on the bed and chastised herself for letting Edward get to her. She knew how to handle these types of situations and she was never really frazzled by them until now. But the moment she laid eyes on him, it threw her for a loop and all that she knew about conversing with the opposite sex went out the window. She turned into a shy, nervous, blushing girl versus the sweet, confident, funny girl that she was always looked at and complimented by friends in New York—even here for that matter.

To put the encounter with Edward behind her, she decided to get out of the house and find something else to do before she met up with Alice.

She quickly dressed into her Midland appointed attire of a tank top, shorts and flip-flops. It was a little less than what she wore this morning, but she felt more put together.

Bella would have snuck out the back door to avoid bumping into Edward—it would be too much too soon to see him, but she knew she needed to tell Sue where she was going. So, instead, Bella put on a brave face and went up stairs hoping that she could write a quick note and leave the house undetected.

When she got to the kitchen, Edward had already left and Sue was putting groceries away.

"Sleep well?" Sue asked.

"Yeah," Bella mumbled her reply.

"That was nice of you," she pointed over to the kitchen table where Leah and Seth were playing with their new toys. "It will give me a chance to get some things done around the house."

Bella felt guilty for not thinking that Sue might need help around the house. She did clean up after herself, but now that Sue was pregnant she could probably use the extra help.

"I could help, I don't have any set plans for today," Bella willingly volunteered.

"Bella," she gave her a pointed look, "you know how I am when it comes to cleaning. I can't trust anyone to get the job done properly unless I do it. Go have fun. It's summer. You're almost eighteen, so enjoy it."

Bella nodded.

Sue grinned, "By the way how's your eye?"

Bella looked up at her startled she knew. And judging by the look that she gave her, Sue knew what she thought of Edward.

"It's fine. I'm going to get going now."

She was about to leave the kitchen when Sue stopped her.

"Don't forget your breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

Sue pointed to the kitchen counter and sitting on the middle of it was a peeled orange wrapped in plastic wrap.

"Edward saved it for you."

Bella felt Sue's eyes on her, waiting for some sort of response, but she knew better than to give her one. Although the incident of Edward tending to her eye made her feel childish, this made her feel even more self-conscious. She didn't know whether or not to take it as an insult or a kind gesture. In any case, Bella took the orange. She didn't want Sue to question her.

"I'll see you later," Bella called out, rushing out the kitchen door.

"Have a good day, Bells!" Sue laughed.

**A/N:**

**Please leave a review. I'll send out a little teaser tomorrow if you do.**

**Next chapter, Edward makes Bella feel ridiculous again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

**Thank you for all your reviews and most importantly, thank you to my beta Lady Gywndenn. **

**Chapter 4 **

I know somewhere there is a party goin' down

Interestin' people, conversation to be found

I've lived in cities where there is no solitude

I've made some friends here that I hope I'll never lose

But for now, I want to stay in this quiet town

Come Sunday morning, there's a market on the square

Children are playin', bells are ringin' in the air

Old men are drinkin', it's a lazy afternoon

Content with thinkin' that there is nothin' to do

So for now, I'm goin' to stay in this quiet town

In this quiet town, in this quiet town

_**Josh Rouse – Quiet Town**_

Bella carefully made her way down the steep trail to river on her useless excuse for a bike. Even with the constant pressure of applying the brakes she gained more speed. The last thing she needed was hitting a large tree root to fly over and causing her to break her neck.

The river ran the length of Midland, and the hang out was just on the outskirts where no one usually ventured because of the difficulty to get there (more so the difficulty to get back). The path to the river was so steep that it forced everyone to walk with their bikes back up.

She could already hear her friends laughing and yelling to each other when she reached the bottom of the hill. She quickly followed the narrow path lined with tall grass to the trees that lined the river.

She spotted Alice and Rose on the bank sunning themselves, flipping through magazines. To the left of them were Jessica and Lauren gossiping. Bella never really liked Jessica and Lauren, but with Midland's population of just over 400, you never really had a choice who your friends were. The teen population was so small that they were bused forty minutes to the high school the next town over. Everyone was usually civil towards each other and if a small spat did occur it didn't last too long since it would cause too much awkwardness within the small group.

The boys, as usual, were half way down the river tubing, the only source of excitement that one can find during summer days.

"Miss me?" Bella called out as she emerged from behind the trees.

Alice jumped up and ran over to hug Bella, "Ya!"

Rose threw Bella a small smile and wave, she was always very quiet, while Jessica and Lauren acknowledged her presence with a nod, before they focused back onto their conversation.

"So fill me in. What's been going on?" Bella asked as she took the spot next to where Alice had been sitting.

She sat back down beside her, "All's the same in the sleepy town of Midland except…" Alice coyly trailed off.

Bella grinned. She loved the fact that no matter how long she spent apart from her best friend, she was able to come back and feel as though they had no time apart.

"Except?" Bella encouraged her to continue.

"You know how I was waited listed for NYU?"

Bella nodded.

"Well, I got an email from them this morning with an acceptance."

"Congrats! We are so getting an apartment together next year."

Bella knew that NYU was Alice's first choice so when she got waitlisted this past spring… Well, she never had seen her friend shed so many tears. She was still sharing Alice's excitement when the boys came back up the bank.

"Yo, Tiny!" Emmett called out.

Bella got up to greet him, but backed away when he started charging at her.

"Please. Don't." her pleas went unanswered and she yelped when he threw her over his shoulder and spun her around.

"Missed ya cuz!"

God siblings were as close as their relations stemmed, his father was her god father and vice versa, but they were raised together as brother and sister because their fathers worked together and it was easier to acknowledge that they were related then to explain.

"Please put me down," Bella couldn't hide the mild panic in her voice. Emmett was at the very least six foot two and the height he held her at was giving her vertigo.

He finally plopped her down on the ground, "You're no fun, but I still love you."

"Thanks," Bella grumbled. She turned around to say hello to Jasper, Rose's twin brother but he was caught up in an embrace with Alice.

Bella gave her a curious look as to when she started seeing Jasper. They did have a crush on each other for a while, but they never talked about how they felt, they were always shy towards each other—until now. Alice blushed and silently let Bella know that she would fill her in on it soon.

"It's disgusting how smitten they are with each other, but it's about time." Jacob whispered from behind her.

"I'll say." Bella turned around and gave Jacob a big hug. Out of all her guy friends, he's the one that understood her the most and never gave her a hard time like Emmett did. "Missed you."

"Missed you more, babes." He released her and studied her up and down. "Looking as gorgeous as ever."

"Same to you, when did you get that six pack," Bella giggled.

Jacob and Bella were always flirtatious towards each other and sometimes their behaviour was misunderstood, especially with Lauren. But it wasn't like that, whenever they flirted, it was more complimentary than romantic, and they ignored anyone who thought otherwise.

"You coming to my party tomorrow night?" Jacob asked.

"Of course she is," Emmett answered for her.

Jacob's house parties were well known to the area and usually were the events of the summer. His house was situated on the escarpment that looked over Midland, it was the only house there and it was huge. This allowed for massive parties and since there were no neighbors— there were no noise complaints. Sometimes the parties lasted a few days on the account that his parents were always away in the summer.

"Have I ever missed one?"

Jacob gave her a sideways hug and kissed the top of her head, "That's my girl!"

"So, Bella, have you met your new neighbor yet?" Jessica interrupted.

"Edward? Yeah, he seems nice." Bella refrained from blushing when she recounted what happened that morning.

"Stay away from him," Emmett warned.

"Why?"

"It will help you keep your virginity intact," Lauren replied snidely.

Everyone knew about her V card status from a drunken game of _Never Have I Ever _last year, but since then Lauren always teased her about it and it had become a sore point for Bella. _'They might flock to you, Bella,' _she told her that same night when everyone else passed out, '_but no guy will ever touch you. You, my dear will always fall into the friend zone, no one will ever love you that way.'_

Bella hated the fact that Lauren might have been right more than she hated her. So far her words rung true— here and in New York.

She looked over to Jacob to get a quick answer.

"You know he's an '_artiste'" _

Bella nodded and rolled her eyes at him.

"Well he paints nude women. Actually it's more like, he screws them, then he paints them before displaying the post-coital moment for the world to see. I should've become a painter."

Bella ignored Jacob's last comment.

"He's a deviant. Stay away from him," Emmett warned again.

She looked over to Jasper, who simply shrugged at the information

"Have you even seen any of the paintings," Bella asked.

"As if," Jessica scoffed, "They're vulgar and pornographic."

"That never stopped you before," Jacob quipped.

Everyone chuckled at Jessica's expense. She stood up and went into a defense mode, but Bella continued.

"How would you know if you haven't seen them?"

"People talk," Lauren retorted.

"So?"

_People talk—_ Gossip, of course, Bella thought to herself. It was always about that, especially if you were new in town. That was the one negative aspect of living in a small town. People talked and by the end of the day it became truth.

She looked over to Alice to get some back up, but she was furiously blushing.

"Have you seen them?"

"Mrs. Cope had one displayed in the gallery," Alice replied, "I caught a glimpse of it."

"And what did you think."

"It was very erotic."

"He screwed more than half the girls in town," Jessica accused.

"That's a little less than you," Bella shot back.

"You know that's just rumor!"

"My point exactly, Jessica!"

Bella hated gossips and Jessica and Lauren were big ones. Jessica should have known better than to contribute to rumors. A senior in high school last year got fed up with her leading him on and decided that spreading a nasty rumor about her was good pay back.

"Guys this is getting out of hand," Jasper finally talked, "why are you arguing about someone you barely know?"

"I have an idea as to why," Jacob whispered in Bella's ear. But his comment was ignored.

"This blows, I'm getting out of here," Jessica stood up and left, Lauren immediately followed.

Every one stood and stared at Bella, "Sorry," she sighed.

"I wouldn't worry about it Bella," Emmett said.

She knew defending Edward was the right thing to do, but she didn't like the little squabble she brought on in doing so.

Rose started to leave.

"Please, tell me you're not mad at me as well."

"I'm not mad at anyone," she replied and gave Bella a sympathetic smile. "You're right for defending him, but do you know him well enough to do so?"

Bella shook her head.

"Bella, I hate gossiping as much as you do, but to most rumors there is some sort of truth."

Was it possible that Rose was right? Bella thought.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Wait up," Jasper called after Rose. "We'll come with you."

Bella turned to Alice and Jasper. "You guys are leaving too?" she asked them sadly.

"Yeah, um, me and Jasper, well, we got plans. I'll come over later tonight and we'll catch up, Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay, I'll see you then, Alice."

Bella let out a large sigh once Rose, Jasper and Alice left. She was disappointed that the little reunion lasted no more than twenty minutes.

"Looks like someone has a little crush," Jacob teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"Shut up," she laughed.

"You think he's better looking than me?"

Bella had enough of being flustered for one day so she gave back as good as she got, "Better looking, better sounding, better built, and better everything."

Jacob chuckled and slung an arm over her shoulder, "good to have you back, Bella. I promise you, this summer will be a memorable one. You coming back to my place?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows.

Bella gave Jacob a playful slap on the chest and shook her head, "I have some stuff to do in town."

"Your loss. I'll see you guys tomorrow night." Jacob pecked her cheek and took off running.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to town," Emmett said and pulled her along.

"It's okay, I brought my bike."

"Tell me you left it at the top of the hill. The brakes barely work on your bike."

She didn't answer Emmett.

"What am I going to do with you, Bella?"

"Just be nice."

Once they made it up the hill, Bella brought up the touchy subject of Edward.

"So why does he get such a bad rap? She asked, "Erotic paintings or not."

"He slept with Mayor Denali's daughter, Tanya."

Bella fought back the urge to laugh. "So? Who the hell hasn't?"

"True," Emmett chuckled, "but it became very known in town when Mrs. Cope displayed her nude portrait in the shop window for everyone to see."

She started laughing

"It was sold to someone in town before the Mayor could do anything about it."

"Let me guess Mr. Driscle probably bought it. He never could keep his eyes off her."

"No one knows. The sale was private."

Bella looked at Emmett surprised.

"Yes Bella, last month Midland was subjected to the biggest scandal and you missed out on it."

"Wow!" In a town this small with the same town mayor of fifteen years—that was big news. Bella thought back to the town's history and nothing like that came ever close.

"Jacob's probably right about the crush thing, and I know you never listen to me, but be careful. Tanya was really embarrassed and upset and Edward didn't bother to do anything about it. I don't think she even heard from him since he painted the portrait. You're too good for someone like that."

Bella knew what Emmett was insinuating and she wasn't on planning on throwing herself at Edward or being taken advantage by him. She was attracted to him, and she did want to attempt to have a relationship with Edward, but she didn't know where to start...

"Did you hear what I just said?" Emmett asked, breaking her train of thought.

"Yes, but you know I'm not like Tanya and I am a big girl. I know how to handle myself."

He nodded, but he seemed unconvinced.

Before they approached downtown, Emmett said his goodbyes and turned down his street.

Bella walked her bike along and watched the hustle and bustle of the town. It was the forth of July weekend and everyone was preparing for all the out of towners that came in. There was evidence already around from the out of state plates parked on the street, vacationers getting a head start.

Midland wasn't much of a town. The only thing it had to offer was the landscape. It was situated below a large escarpment to the east and a national and state trail crossed paths just north of Main St., where Jasper and Rose lived. Their parents owned a horse farm and they offered guided equestrian tours.

The town usually swam with hikers and cyclists well before the season started and once the season did start lots of cottagers came to visit since Midland was the closest thing to civilization before travelers hit cottage country fifteen miles north of Midland.

She walked passed the General Store and the Cycle Shop before stopping in front of the Midland Gallery. Now curious about the paintings, Bella leaned her bike against the brick wall and stepped inside.

"I'll be right with you," Mrs. Cope called out from the back of the shop.

Bella took her time took look around, hoping to find Edward's paintings so it wouldn't be too obvious as to why she was visiting Mrs. Cope.

She came across a painting that stuck her interest. It was of a little boy meekly approaching a little girl at a playground, but the girl was pushing him away with a scowl. The clarity and the use of light in the painting amazed her, but it was the facial expression and body language that left her speechless. They were so real, so honest, that Bella could relate to it. Mrs. Cope startled her before she had a chance to find out who the painter was.

"Bella, when did you get into town?"

"Last night."

She gave Mrs. Cope a quick hug.

"Well, it's very nice that you dropped by. Lately people are only stopping by to see a particular painting," she huffed.

Bella nodded, already knowing the situation, "Edward Cullen's paintings."

"New travels fast, and don't believe everything they say." Mrs. Cope grinned, "Sure, the mayors daughter's portrait was a bit scandalous, but the paintings themselves are extraordinary. Here let me show you. Unlike other people, I know you appreciate fine art.

She led Bella to the back wall and showed her the two nude portraits.

"These would make Renoir and Degas proud," Mrs. Cope sighed.

Bella studied them. Alice was right, the paintings were erotic, but they were not vulgar in the least like Jessica had suggested.

"It's the eyes and facial expression; you don't even need to look at the model's body to know what she experienced. I think that's what makes most people blush, not the actual nakedness. There expression is so serene… It's as if… how old are you again?"

"Eighteen in two weeks."

"I'll finish that sentence then."

Bella shook her head, her eyes refusing to break away from the portrait, "No need. I get it. It's as if they reached spiritual ecstasy through orgasms alone."

Bella couldn't believe that she said that comment out loud. Even Mrs. Cope was shocked, but she didn't refute what Bella had said, nor did Bella take it back. What she said was true. She remembered what Jacob told her about Edward and what he did in order to paint those portraits. Now the rumor didn't seem so far fetched.

"Does he have any other paintings?"

"Yes, two more at the front of the shop. I believe you were looking at the one with the little boy and girl."

Bella nodded as she followed Mrs. Cope back to the front of the shop.

"That's his too, and so is this one," She pointed to another portrait that Bella didn't see.

The portrait was Edward's rendition of a traditional Madonna painting, but instead of the iconic little man baby in the mother's arms, it was a bouncing, chubby, giggling, baby trying to grasp at her face as she looked down on him.

She smiled at the true image of a mother and child.

"So which one do you like the best?" Mrs. Cope asked.

"All of them are great, but I'd have to say that one." Bella pointed to the first portrait she saw when she came in. "How much is it anyway?"

"Twelve hundred."

Bella eyes bugged out of her head, she couldn't believe this little town was capable of selling art at that price range. Last year the most expensive painting in the gallery was only five hundred.

Mrs. Cope laughed. "I know, but I've sold four of his paintings already for more. You know Bella, you should consider selling your artwork."

"I'm not as good as him!"

"You have different styles, but you are as good as him. I should know. Just think about it. I know that you mostly paint stills and landscapes and those paintings get sold like hotcakes around here. Buyers usually want to take a piece of Midland and the surrounding area back home with them."

Bella shrugged, "Maybe. I should get back home now. I'll see you later Mrs. Cope."

"Next time I see you, you better be bringing me some inventory."

Bella took Mrs. Cope's words to heart as she left the gallery. Maybe it was time for her to start selling her work. If she ever wanted to make a living as an artist she would eventually need to part with her paintings. She just wasn't sure if she could do it so soon, but on the other hand if she sold a few of her paintings before the summer ended, the money would allow her to be a little more self reliant this fall.

Bella stood in front of her bike weighing out all the pro's and con's to having her artwork displayed for sale at the art gallery. She was completely oblivious of what was going around her until laughter from across the street brought her out of her mind.

She looked over and found that Edward was the source of the laughter. She thought that it was directed at her and involuntarily blushed before she realized he was joking around with Mr. Crowley, the owner of the hardware store. He was helping Edward load supplies onto the bed of his pick up.

It was too late for her to hide her face. He had spotted her in mid blush and she knew what was coming. She saw the mischief in his eyes even before he spoke.

"For a city girl, I didn't think my paintings would have you that flustered."

She knew Edward got the reaction he wanted from her when he chuckled at her crimson colored face.

Bella calmly got on her bike and tried to take control of the situation.

"I was there for business. You're not the only artist in town."

"Touché," he smiled sincerely and used a gentler voice that made her want to melt, "I'll see you, Bella."

She kept quiet as she peddled away.

**A/N: **

**So, what did you think of Jacob? He will play a very important role, but I'm getting way ahead of myself.**

**I promise there is more Edward to come next chapter and maybe little drama for the gang at the house party. So stay tuned! **

**Please leave a review. I love to hear your comments, thoughts and opinions. For those who leave a review, I promise you a teaser.**

**iv**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

**Thank you for all your reviews and putting me in your alerts. Most importantly, thank you to my beta Lady Gywndenn. **

**Chapter 5**

A day once dawned, and it was beautiful

A day once dawned from the ground

Then the night she fell

And the air was beautiful

The night she fell all around.

So look see the days

The endless coloured ways

And go play the game that you learnt

From the morning.

**From The Morning – Nick Drake**

That evening Bella took Mrs. Cope's advice and decided to create some paintings for her to sell. She took an inventory of her supplies and made a list of what she needed. She was low on paints, a few of her brushes needed to be replaced and she couldn't paint until she got some canvas.

Bella vowed that after the long weekend she would attempt to have a completed painting every two weeks.

She spent the rest of the night on the couch sketching Leah and Seth while they watched a movie. She got frustrated with herself attempting to draw them. She was good at still life but when it came to portraits Bella could only dream to replicate the image of the boy and girl that hung in the Midland Gallery.

Alice never showed up that night, but it was just as well. Bella really threw in a monkey wrench to their group by defending Edward and she hoped it would blow over before Jacob's party tomorrow night.

It was six in the morning when Alice unceremoniously woke Bella up by bouncing on the bed.

"How did you get in here?" she asked, still attempting to sleep

"Sliding back door."

"I locked it last night."

"Bella, the door's ancient. All you have to do is lift and slide. Now get up!" She shook the bed some more.

"Can you please stop that? I'm still sleeping," she mumbled into her pillow.

"Nope. We need to talk."

"If it's about yesterday, I already apologized."

"I know, but Jasper and I had to calm Jessica and Lauren down. Thank heaven Rose was there, or they would have never left us alone. What was with you? I've never known you to be snippy with them."

Bella got up, trying to get back to sleep was pointless. She sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Alice, I'm sorry. I really am. But they were being 'snippy' themselves," she made sure to use air quotes.

Alice never swore. She was raised in a strict Roman Catholic household, the youngest out of seven brothers and sisters that have all moved out years ago. Although she was now an atheist, she never used the Lord's name in vain nor did she use swear words that were not prime time friendly.

"That's only because you shared more words with Edward then they did." Alice trailed off for a moment. "Come to think of it, I don't think he uttered more than 'hi kids' to them."

"That explains a lot," Bella muttered.

"So what did you guys talk about?"

Bella laughed and threw a pillow at her, "I don't think so! You're first. When the hell did you start going out with Jasper?"

"When he asked me to prom," Alice answered shyly.

Bella feigned hurt, "We had talked a lot after that, why didn't you tell me? I know that it was inevitable and all…" She couldn't believe that Alice was able to keep that to herself for this long.

"Sorry, but we kept it from everyone. For the first little bit even Rose didn't know. That last thing we wanted to hear from everyone was 'finally' or 'about time'."

"Well it is!"

"I know. Right?" Alice flopped down on the bed laughed. "Come on get up and make me breakfast, I need to get to bed soon."

"You were up all night with Jasper?"

"That's why I'm here. I told my parents I would be sleeping here and I cannot tell a lie. So make me breakfast. That way I can have a carb crash and get to sleep. I'll give you full disclosure when you make me those pancakes with the apple cinnamon sauce."

"Do I really want to know everything?"

"Whether you do or not I'm still telling. I need someone to tell. Like I would tell Jessica and Lauren about me and Jasper," she said more to herself than to Bella. "And Rose is his sister. That talk would be just too awkward."

Alice was still rambling when Bella got out of bed and pulled her up by the wrist, "Come on."

They were sitting down to breakfast on the front porch. Half way through their more adult conversation in the kitchen the kids came downstairs. They spoke in code while Bella made pancakes for them. Eventually Sue came downstairs and took over for Bella.

"I don't get it. How can you technically still be a virgin? You weren't just fooling around or being heavy with him. You had sex with him!"

Bella had already polished of her plate of pancakes and was idly fixing her sketches of Leah and Seth from last night.

"Bella, will you keep it down," Alice shushed her, covering her mouth full of food, "This town is like big brother." Alice raised her index finger to indicate she needed a moment and took a drink of juice before she continued, "First of all made love not sex, secondly the answer is yes. When we get married it won't count. He will still be my first and only."

"Married!"

"Will you shut up?" Alice slapped her playfully.

"Don't you think it's a little premature for marriage?" Bella asked, finally lowering her voice.

Alice took another big bite of her pancakes before she answered, "We've known each other since we were two. Jasper's been one of my best friends since day one. He knows me, and accepts me for who I am: all my hang ups and idiosyncrasies, my crazy religious family and my obsession for shoes. I love him and I know he loves me, possibly even more. We work well together, his strengths are my weakness and vice versa."

"I'm sold Alice. And I'm officially envious."

Bella was happy for her friend, but Alice grew up in a very sheltered world. It was just this spring that her parents finally relented and allowed her to date. Bella was allowed to date since grade school. Her mother never opposed the idea of her dating and now here was Alice and in less then two months she not only had a boyfriend, but she had her first and possibly her last love in her life!

"What about Edward?" Alice asked, bringing Bella out of her inner rant.

"What about Edward?" she retorted, and instantly regretting her tone. She sighed and continued dejectedly, "He's my new next-door neighbor that watches Leah and Seth once in a while."

"What's he like?" Alice prodded.

"He's nice, I guess." Bella thought back to this morning and smiled," A little cocky, but overall okay. I don't really know him that well."

She looked up and found Alice wagging her eyebrows at her, "Cocky?"

"Get you're head out of the gutter Alice," Bella laughed.

"Aren't you the least bit attracted to him?"

Bella focused all her attention to her sketchbook and on re-drawing the flower motif on Leah's shirt, "What's there not to be attracted by? I'm just not his type. Who's to say that I won't get a 'hey kid' like Jessica and Lauren did."

"So what's his type then?" Alice asked.

The girl was relentless. She just threw question after question until she was able to paint her own picture of the situation so to speak, before she offered to help. Anyone else would find Alice prying, but Bella was used to it and sometimes had a difficulty in keeping certain things back because she answered automatically.

"Soft, curvaceous, beautiful, experienced women." Bella couldn't help to describe what she saw yesterday. "Alice, You've seen the portraits."

"That doesn't mean anything," Alice waved her hand and tried to make light of Bella's miserable response.

"Sure it does. I never paint anything that I don't find appealing or interesting."

"Well you're beautiful."

"Pretty? Maybe. But, beautiful? No. Thanks though."

Alice rolled her eyes at her and went on to Bella's other qualities, "You're experienced."

"Alice you have a boy friend. You're already ahead of the game. I'm still on the starting line," Alice was about to interrupt her, but Bella continued knowing what her argument would be, "Just because I gave useful sex and relationship advice to my friends back New York means nothing. I'm still a virgin. The closest I ever came to kissing a guy was with Jacob when I was nine and it didn't count because it felt like I got my face licked by a dog."

Bella abruptly threw down her sketchbook out of frustration. She couldn't find a relationship and she couldn't draw people. This had to have some sort of connection. Maybe she couldn't relate to people and guys picked up on it, she said to herself. "Listen to myself, I sound pathetic. Can't even get someone to fall in love with me because I fall into the 'friend zone' or worse still, the 'forever damned kid sister zone'."

"You'll get there. Actually, he'll get here," Alice said staring towards the driveway.

When Bella looked up she saw Edward and his grandmother, Mrs. Cullen coming up the front walkway. She cast her negative thoughts aside and waved to them.

"We'll I'm heading off to bed. Goodnight Mrs. Cullen," Alice said getting up with their plates and went inside.

"Goodnight Alice? Hello, Bella," Mrs. Cullen gave Bella a curious look when Alice left.

"She'd been up all night," Bella replied.

She chuckled and shook her head.

"It's nice seeing you again, Mrs. Cullen," Bella got up and gave her a hug.

The first summer after her parents divorce, Bella spent most of her time at Mrs. Cullen's home while her dad worked. If she wasn't with Alice, she was in kitchen with Mrs. Cullen baking cookies as she comforted her through her hard time. She viewed her like an adoptive grandmother since she never had grandparents of her own. She knew as much about Bella's situation as Sue did, even more so because she was around when her parents started fighting, and often invited Bella to help her walk the dog when she was forced to wait on the front porch until the yelling had finished.

"I really missed you dear. How are things back in New York?"

"Same old," Bella replied sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It doesn't matter anymore, it's all over."

"So I heard. Columbia bound, like Edward here," she said with a smile.

"Yes ma'am." Bella looked over to Edward and gave him a smile as he looked on in confusion.

"Is Sue inside with the kids?"

"Yeah, go on in," Bella pointed to the door, "She's in the kitchen."

Mrs. Cullen went inside and Edward stayed behind on the front porch with Bella.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"You don't want to know. It's a long story and a little embarrassing on my part."

"Really?" he asked sitting down beside her, "If I'd ask you nicely would you tell me," he coaxed.

Bella shook her head and picked up her sketchbook. Her mother's extracurricular activities were the last thing she wanted to discuss with Edward. Fortunately, he got the message and quickly changed the subject.

"So, I didn't think of you as an earlier riser."

Bella didn't play into his comment. She knew he was trying to bring up yesterday. "Where are you off to?"

"Portland," He groaned, "My grandmother wants to go shopping."

"Do you think your truck can make it?"

"No. That's why I'm taking her car."

Bella started to laugh, "I don't think I can picture you in a K-car."

He replied with a grumble and his reaction only caused Bella to laugh harder.

"Anyway," he said changing the subject once more, "There's a an Art Supply warehouse in Portland.

"Harper's. Yeah, I know it."

"Well, I'm heading down there. Do you need anything?"

Bella gave him a puzzled look, until she realized he was being sincere. She had a feeling he was a least a nice guy, but the few games he already played with her in the span of twenty-four hours didn't make her believe that he had the potential of being that thoughtful.

"Only if you don't mind." She was going to order her things on line, but this would be a lot faster.

"I wouldn't be asking otherwise," he smirked and reverting back to the person that Bella was more familiar with.

Bella turned to the back of her sketchbook and tore out a piece of paper with a very detailed list she'd written last night and passed it to him.

He stared at this list, surprised, "That was fast."

"I was going to place an order online this afternoon," she explained.

He laughed at the timing.

"If you can wait a minute, I'll get you some cash," she said and attempted to get up.

Edward motioned her to sit back down, "Just pay me when I get back."

"Sure."

A small lull developed in their conversation. Instead of trying to keep their conversation going, Bella went back to sketching in her book. She caught Edward staring at her from the corner of her eye a few times.

When she looked up again, she was startled to find him hovering over her trying to get a glimpse of what she was drawing.

"Can I look through it?" he asked pointing to her sketchbook.

She quietly passed her book over to him. He examined the pages from back to front as she examined her pencil, nervous to hear his critique.

"Yikes."

Her head shot up. "Yikes?" Bella should have been insulted by his 'constructive criticism', but instead grinned at his remark.

He was looking at her drawings and didn't notice her facial expression. "I'm mean they're good… It's just… Well, the image is good, but it looks cold and…" he said apologetically.

She waved her hand in passing, "I know they're bad. I'm not that great at portraits in the first place. She laughed, "You said _yikes_. What next? _Gosh, darn it_?"

He tried to glare at her, but he couldn't hide the humour in his eyes. "I blame that on your step-mother," he said pointedly, "If you look at it my way, my swearing has taken I turn for the worse since I arrived."

He flipped a back a few pages to her earlier drawings in the year. This time she studied his reaction when he looked at her landscape drawings. A smile crept on her lips when his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Wow these are… incredible."

"Yeah?"

"I mean it. The landscape… I've never seen composition like that. It's very unique, very deviant." He looked up and grinned, "I didn't realize you had something like this in you."

"What did you think then?" she asked purposely to find out what he thought of her.

"You know, safe, conservative, traditional, stoic."

" No, I don't know," she muttered back. Edward's assumption of her art work was like a stab to heart and made her believe that his first opinion to her art work passed on to her character.

Edward looked up at her and found her frowning. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I was completely wrong," he said looking up at her. Bella eyes caught his and gasped inwardly. There was a glint in his eyes like he was looking at her differently, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared when Edward looked back to her book and flipped the page.

He continued, with enthusiasm and all of his pretense was gone, "You're not afraid of the boundaries a page provides. It looks as though you're looking through a window and you begin to believe that the closer you get more will be revealed."

Bella peeked over his shoulder and saw that he was looking at drawing that Bella made when she was in Midland this past spring. It was a drawing of a large treetop as the foreground and obscuring the view of a fenced in field and a barn off in the distance. The tree had only begun budding so, what was meant to be hidden peeked through the branches of the tree.

"That was the view from my old room," she replied with nostalgia.

He flipped to the next page and studied a pastel drawing of the river. Bella remembered that day clearly it was unbelievably sunny that day and the sun reflected off the water in every which way.

"How do you capture the light like that," Edward mused.

Bella shrugged, "I just draw what I see and I always obsess about how light plays with shadows."

"I'm impressed," Edward stated when he finished going through her sketchbook.

"Thanks, but it nothing that spectacular. The only reason I managed to master landscapes and still life was to avoid drawing portraits. They never turn out the way I see them and after a few tries I go back to what I know." She felt self conscious telling him this. Bella knew very well that Edward didn't have any problems with what he painted.

He looked back to her latest sketch and studied it for a moment. "I know what your problem is and it's easy to fix."

"Care to enlighten me," Bella quipped when he didn't expand on what he said.

He murmured, "If that's what you want," insinuating something else.

Edward was reverting back to his teasing self and it annoyed Bella.

"Never mind," she spat and reached for her sketchbook, but he pulled it away from her and took hold of her wrist.

Bella froze and tried to figure out what he was doing. She didn't resist as he slowly turned her hand over to reveal her palm and started tracing her lifelines. She stared at him when he intensely studied her hand. She felt naked and revealed because of that simple act, but she didn't want to pull away. She didn't want to break this mini intimate moment she had with him.

"Your drawings are great," he began, "Your fine details and your use of light are incredible. But you've conditioned yourself to draw the outside shape in the space, which is good. It's just that the human body shouldn't be looked at that way. You need to look at what's beneath the skin. Flex your hand," he instructed, "See the way your muscle move beneath."

Bella nodded and studied her hand. Edward finally let go of her and took the pencil out of her other one and flipped to a blank page in her sketchbook. She wished he could have kept his hand on hers.

"Don't move your hand," he said and started to draw in her book. "Think DaVinci when it comes to portraits. He learned the human form by studying cadavers, and it helped him excel."

He started to draw a series of lines and circles on the page. To Bella it resembled nothing.

"Start with the skeleton and pay attention to where the joints are," he said pointing to the circles that were supposed to represent the joints of her hand. "Then focus on where the tendons and muscles are."

Edward hand was furiously moving around the page as he added in more lines and squiggles with the pencil. Bella was beginning to doubt that he was able to draw because the just made a mess of the page with various scribbles.

"Don't forget about the veins and fatty tissue and finally," he said as his hand slowed down and began methodically connecting all the scribbles with smooth even strokes, "Add the skin and its texture, when you do that the shading falls into place."

By the time he finished explaining the process of how to draw a hand, he was handing Bella back her sketchbook with all the bumps and squiggles connected and depicting a life like image of hers on the page. It was far and away from the painting that she has seen yesterday, but it was really impressive in itself. The Dali-esque style made it very appealing to her.

Bella was lost in thought from comparing her hand to the image on the paper when he spoke, "There are only two rules for you to remember, Bella."

The mention of her name brought her back and looked at him in amazement by what he produced in a matter of seconds.

When drawing remember that you're trying to capture a moment in time not freeze it," he said softly, " And humans and animals move internally as opposed to everything else that moves externally."

Bella nodded and took the advice to heart, but with some doubt, "It sounds easier than it looks."

"Trust it me, it's not that hard. You'll get the hang of it. Just keep drawing your hand. I'm sure it won't take you more than a few tries."

Mrs. Cullen stepped out on the front porch with Sue before Bella had a chance to thank him for the art lesson.

"You ready to go Edward?" Mrs. Cullen asked.

"Yup," he replied without any reservation. Although Bella knew that he wasn't interested in driving the hour and a half to Portland, he was trying to be a good grandson by appeasing her.

Mrs. Cullen said her goodbyes and made her way to her car that was parked on her driveway.

"I guess I'll see you later," he said, not making a move to leave.

"Yeah. Oh and thanks."

"My pleasure," Edward grinned and slowly made his way across the lawn to his grandmother's K-car. He looked back at Bella a few times before Mrs. Cullen called out to him to hurry up.

Bella got up from her spot to go inside, but Sue was blocking her way.

"I knew you'd like him. And I knew he'd like you," she said smiling mischievously.

Bella shook her head, "he was just being neighborly."

"Neighborly my ass."

"You just lost a dollar to the swear jar," Bella laughed.

**A/N:**

**What did you think? Let me know. I love hearing from you and I'll send out teasers and info about the story to those who review**

**Yes, the 'I'm still technically a virgin' does exist. I've witnessed it myself among highschool friends. And yes, I went to Catholic school and I should add that it was an all girls school. Don't feel too bad, there were plenty of boys (that drove) waiting around for us after school.**

**Poor Bella, Edward's behaviour is giving the poor girl whiplash insofar, it's giving me whiplash. _Yikes!_**

**I wonder what's going on with him that causes him to be that way towards Bella? ;P Does he even find her attractive?**

**I was planning to throw in Jacob's party in this chapter, but I didn't want to make it too long. **

**See ya at the party in the next chapter.**

**iv**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

**Thank you for all your reviews and most importantly, thank you to my beta Lady Gywndenn. **

**Chapter 6**

All my life I've been wastin', wastin'

Wastin' all my money, all my time

All the time that I'm waitin', waitin'

Waitin for the moment you are mine

I need love

Cause only love is true

I need every wakin' hour with you

And my friends cause they're so beautiful

Yeah my friends they are so beautiful

**Friends – Band of Skulls**

While Alice slept, Bella spent some time with her dad after breakfast by taking Leah and Seth to the park.

"So, what did Edward want this morning?" he asked casually as he pushed Seth on the swing.

Bella knew that her dad was prying, but since nothing was going on between Edward and her she wasn't offended.

"He's picking up a few art supplies for me in Portland."

"That's nice of him. So are you two friends?"

Leah urged Bella to push her higher. Bella complied and she earned a scream from her little sister when Bella pushed her hard enough to run underneath the swing.

"Dad," she finally replied with a grumble, "I barely know him."

"But you'll eventually become friends?"

"Dad!" she said incredulously.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be noisy."

"Sure you don't," Bella said sarcastically.

Her dad sighed, "You're right, but I'm your father. I have a right to know these things."

"I'm sure we wouldn't be having this conversation if you found out I was dating Jacob."

"That's because I know Jacob. He's a good kid, a little wild, but a good kid nonetheless."

Bella shook her head at her Dad's response.

"What?"

"What?" she replied in disbelief. "Don't tell me that you don't know Edward, he only watches your kids!"

Leah asked to get down and Seth followed her soon after to the slide.

"That's different," he said, "The things heard about him…"

Bella lifted an eyebrow, "What did you hear?"

"Well, ahh… well, if you haven't heard it yourself yet than you'll eventually.

Bella was bewildered by her dad's prejudices towards Edward. "Dad, you were the first one to teach me not lo listen to what this town has to say. Why are you being like this?"

"Why are you defending him?" Bella's dad retorted.

"Because maybe I like him," she admitted. "What did he do that made you dislike him so much?"

Her dad's expression fell for a moment. Fear and guilt flooded his eyes before they soften. "You're right, Bella, and I'm sorry. I just don't like the fact that you don't really need me anymore."

Bella let out a small chuckle, "I still need you, but I don't need you as much and that's a good thing. It's a reflection on you. Besides you have Leah and Seth."

Charlie nodded, "Just remember Bella, Boys will tell you things they think—"

"I want to hear," Bella finished the mantra her dad taught her about boys that she heard since she was twelve years old.

"I'm hungy," Seth said running up to them.

Bella was relieved by the distraction when her dad decided to take them for ice cream before they went home.

"Hurry up! Emmett is waiting for us," Alice yelled.

Bella got back much later than expected and had very little warning when everyone decided to go to Jacob's house earlier then planned. Bella ran around her room collecting things that she needed for that night.

"Don't forget your swimsuit," Alice reminded her.

Bella stormed into her closet and went on a hunt. The only thing she was able to find was a white bikini that she bought on a whim last year in Portland and never wore. She found it too revealing, but she had no other choice and she wasn't going to give up a chance to swim in Jacob's pool or enjoy the hot tub.

"Just give me a minute to change."

She heard the honk from Emmett's car.

"Shut up!" she yelled, even though Emmett couldn't hear her, "What's the difference if we're there fifteen minutes late," she muttered to herself.

"So you can get the giant lounge bed, before Jessica and Lauren lay claim to it.

"Right."

Bella ran into the bathroom and changed into her bikini before throwing on a white sundress. She ran a brush through her hair and packed it along with her toothbrush in her over night bag.

Alice was already packed and stood by the stairs tapping her foot while Bella grabbed the last few things.

After she made sure she had her cell and I her iPod, she decided to bring her sketchbook and pastels as well.

"Do you really need to bring that today?" Alice asked when she saw Bella packing up her art supplies.

"Unless you plan to ditch Jasper this afternoon I'm bringing it with me."

"By all means then," Alice laughed.

Bella zipped up her bag and huffed.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

Emmett's horn sounded again.

Sue called down the stairs, "Bella, Emmett's waiting for you."

"We know!" Bella yelled and charged up the stairs with Alice right behind her.

"What's the rush?" Sue asked when they got upstairs.

"Party," Alice sang.

Sue laughed, "Have fun girls."

"Oh, we plan on it," Alice grinned.

Bella ran past the kitchen as her dad read a paper while he ate lunch.

"Bye Dad, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Stop!"

Bella slid to a stop at the kitchen entrance. Alice slammed into her back pushing her forward. Emmett's horn went off again. This was not the time for her dad to throw around his authority.

"Where are you going?"

"Jacob's," Bella replied, a little confused. She mentioned her plans to her dad this morning.

"Oh, right. Are you staying the night?"

"I always do?" Bella wondered if more things have changed and now she had to seek permission to go out with her friends.

Alice discretely poked her in the back wanting to know what was going on since her dad never really treated her like that.

His face soured for a fraction of a second, "Will Edward be there?"

"He's in Portland today," Sue chimed in for Bella.

"Dad, I told you that."

"Well in that case, have fun!" he smiled widely and went back to eating his lunch.

Bella's jaw dropped. This inquisition was all about Edward? What did he even have against him? She shook her head and walked away when Emmett's horn sounded one last time in a long drone.

"Bye, Dad," she muttered.

When Bella got to the front door to put her shoes on, she heard Sue scolding him for his behavior towards Bella, "That was uncalled for, Charlie!"

"I'm her father and I worry," he answered back.

"Her social life never seemed to trouble you until she met Edward," Sue quickly retorted. Bella was glad that Sue saw things for what they were and that she was on her side.

"That's what that was about? Edward? Alice asked in complete shock. "I don't get it. Your dad likes every one."

Bella shrugged as they walked out the front door to Emmett's car.

"That was super weird," Alice continued, "I've never seen him like that. He reminded me of my dad.

"Please, can we forget about it?"

"It's about time," Emmett yelled as they approached the car.

"Sorry about that, my dad…" Bella shook her head not wanting to talk about what transpired a few moments ago.

Alice opened the passenger door and motioned for Bella to get in the back.

"Get in the back Alice," Emmett said.

"It's fine, Alice can have shot gun." Bella didn't want to cause any trouble, what she stirred up yesterday was enough.

"You're the guest of honor," Emmett reasoned, "Besides you're a better passenger DJ. No offense," he told Alice.

"None taken," she grumbled.

When they were settled in Emmett leaned over and whispered loud enough for Alice to hear, "I had enough of that pop crap that she listens. It pisses me off."

"Heard that!"

"Heard what?" Emmett chuckled.

Bella laughed. "Well what are you in the mood for?" Bella asked plugging in her iPod.

"Something from this decade, something rock n' roll with a good beat. Oh, and representative of me?"

She looked over to Emmett and smiled knowing exactly what he wanted, "Kings of Leon it is."

When McFearless blasted, Emmett hollered and peeled away from the driveway.

The way that Emmett drove, they managed to listen to only three songs before they got to Jacob's. Alice immediately hopped out of the jeep and ran around back. Emmett stopped Bella when she was about do the same.

"Don't drink tonight." he said.

"Why the hell not?"

"Everyone has a bet going that you'd be the first to get sick and pass out, I bet for you so I'll split the profits."

"How much?"

"Fifty each."

"No brokering fees?" There was always a catch with Emmett.

"Nope."

"Deal."

"That's my girl," he grinned widely, "I'm counting on you, I don't want a repeat of last year when you passed out on the kitchen counter."

"First off, it wasn't my fault," she retorted indignantly. "Jacob spiked my drinks and secondly I purposely went to sleep there, it was comfortable.

"Yeah, cold, hard marble comfortable."

Bella ignored him and stormed away.

"Don't make me lose my faith in you, B," Emmett called out after her.

Jacob, Jasper, and Rose were already in the pool, enjoying the water.

"Finally!" Jasper shouted, "Get your asses in here."

Alice was already in her swimsuit and stood on the diving board. She showed off her perfect form from her days on the high school diving when she dove into the pool. Emmett, already clad in his swim trunks, pulled off his shirt and took off running towards the pool. He jumped in without any hesitation.

Bella was a little more cautious around water from a mishap by the river when she still lived here full time. She took off her sundress which earned her a couple of cat calls from the boys.

"What are you waiting for, B?" Jacob asked her as she tested the water with her toe.

She carefully used the steps to go into the pool and waded slowly in before she felt she was in far enough to dunk into the water and enjoy the cool temperature.

When she resurfaced, Jacob swam towards her. "Always the tease," he whispered to her and dove into the water. He swam under her and hoisted her up, throwing Bella her into the deep end. She screamed before she went under again and resurfaced laughing, splashing Rose as she floated by.

"Sorry about yesterday, Rose. Alice told me about you dealing with the Jessica and Lauren aftermath."

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she shrugged with a smirk.

"Where are they anyway?" Bella asked when she noticed that Jessica and Lauren weren't there.

"Canvassing for Jacob's party up north, they should get here in a few."

Bella was happy that she would be able to spend some unguarded time with her friends.

Everyone stayed in the pool for another hour before they got out to raid Jacob's kitchen for a late lunch.

Like always, Jacob had everything fully stocked. The kitchen counter held an assortment of liquor, the fridge filled with cold drinks, and the pantry was full of snacks.

Fed and tired from swimming everyone headed back outside to make use of the lounge chairs for a nap before everyone else arrived. With her ear buds in and not quite tired, Bella pulled out her sketch book and started to draw the first thing that came to her mind; Edward's piercing green eyes. The way he looked at her this morning couldn't be washed from her memory. Bella created the perfect shade of green and before long she had Edward's stormy eyes staring at her like they did a few hours ago.

She shifted in the lounge bed and saw Jacob approach her lazily holding a beer. He motioned to his bottle, asking if she wanted one.

"No thanks," she replied moving over to make some room for Jacob.

He laid down beside her and picked up her iPod. Whenever he had a chance he always created a play list for her.

"You should have a nap if you're planning on staying awake the rest of the night, Jacob suggested.

"I know. In a minute."

"Jacob smiled and continued creating her play list.

"So where are you going this fall?" she asked breaking their silence a few minutes later.

Jacob looked up and smirked, "Yale."

Bella remembered to keep her voice down, "How the hell did you get in?"

"What? You can't believe that I'm smarter than you? Parents," he sighed with some resentment, "Alumni, with money, plus a few decent grades… they couldn't refuse me."

"I'll miss you," Bella pouted.

"Hey, we're used to being apart and I'll be back here next summer. Between now and then we can wreak havoc on this town."

"What did you have in mind?" Bella asked slyly.

"Wanna get back at Jessica and Lauren?"

"For what?"

"Dissin' your boy," he warbled.

Bella scrunched her face, "Edward?"

"Aha, I knew it!" Jacob pointed his finger at her and tisked.

"I never—"

Jacob cut her off before she could deny that she and Edward were an item. "So, will he be the one?" he asked suggestively.

"What's it to you? I'm not talking to you about it." This was not a conversation she wanted to have with Jacob. Alice, yes. But Jacob? She would never hear the end of it.

"Well, he is the first guy I've ever seen you interested in?"

"Why would you think that?" Bella asked in disbelief that Jacob had managed to observe this.

He pointed to her sketchbook answering her own question, "Whose eyes are those?" he asked already knowing what Bella's reply would be.

"That's none of your business."

"Sketching his eyes, like some love sick teen?" he mused, "I figured you have a crush on him."

"I do not," Bella quickly denied.

"It okay, you have my blessing."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

Jacob grinned, "It will piss Emmett off."

"What will piss me off?" Emmett woke when he heard his name.

"Nothing!" they both said in unison.

"You better not renege on our deal," Emmett grumbled and fell back asleep.

"All set," Jacob said and pressed play on her iPod.

Jacob was relentless. He even mocked Bella with his music choice. Her face soured when she heard _Billy Idol's, _Eyes Without a Face through her ear buds.

"God your annoying Jacob Black," she whined and turned away from him.

"I know, but you love me anyway."

"Wake me in an hour," she muttered.

"Sweet dreams," he teasingly cooed in her ear before she swatted him away.

Bella felt like she had closed her eyes for only five minutes when she was nudged awake by Jacob.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled.

"Bitch alert," he whispered.

Bella turned onto her back and shielded her eyes from the low-lying sun. Lauren and Jessica stood at the foot of the lounge bed.

"Where's Edward?" Lauren asked snidely.

Bella was still getting her bearings from being woken abruptly. "He's in Portland for the day," she replied passively with a yawn.

Jacob chuckled at Jessica and Lauren's reaction. They stormed off quickly to the other side of the pool, not happy that Bella knew more than they did about Edward.

"I'm going to get ready," she said getting up to stretch.

"Use my room. Twiddle-dumb and twiddle-dumber took over the guest rooms."

Bella clasped her hand over her mouth to refrain from laughing out loud.

By the time she came back downstairs, some of Jacob's high school friends were already there. By eight, the cottagers showed up, and by ten the party was in full swing.

As promised Bella didn't drink anything yet and found herself amused by the random acts of idiocy that begun to emerge because of the alcohol.

Emmett was getting a beer bong going with some high school friends, and Jasper and Alice disappeared from sight for a solid hour before settling themselves back on the couch completely disheveled.

Jacob was in the corner smoking pot with a select few. He showed no signs of being drunk and stoned, apart from his shiny eyes, and like always he played the perfect host by making sure everyone was good and drunk.

A while later Jacob approached Bella and Rose who were on the couch chatting with a few girls that were vacationing up north.

"Jello shots for the beautiful ladies," Jacob crooned, earning giggles from the girls. Rose rolled her eyes at him and grabbed a few shots for herself.

"B?" Jacob asked holding the tray out.

"No thanks," she replied remembering her deal with Emmett.

"You're no fun!"

"Sure, I am."

"One?" he pressured her some more.

"I'll have a vodka soda later."

Jacob's eyebrows lifted in realization, "Emmett got to you!"

"My lips are sealed," Bella bit her lip to stop a grin from spreading.

He shook his head and walked of laughing, "Next time you're in cahoots with me."

The Jello shots got to Rose quickly and she stumbled up stairs to use the bathroom. Bella offered to take her, but she just waved her off.

Bella was thinking about make her self something to drink. Being the only sober person at the party wasn't fun anymore. When she got to the kitchen Jacob was out of vodka. She was about to go look for him when she realized Rose still hadn't come back from the bathroom. Bella was about to use the stairs from the kitchen when Rose came charging down. She looked out of sorts with her eyes wide in panic and her hand clamped to her mouth.

Bella was about to ask her if she was okay, but Rose completely disregarded her and shoved Bella out of the way to run out the back door.

Bella followed her out and saw Rose wretch into to a potted plant nearby.

"Rose, are you okay."

"I want to go home," she cried.

"Okay," Bella replied softly, "I'll get Emmett's car keys. I'll be right back."

"No!" Rose yelled, "Don't leave me".

"Bella began to worry. She had never seen Rose distraught or even sick like this, Even when she was drunk, her demeanor was much like her brother's, cool, calm and collected.

"Rose did anything happen?"

"Nothing h-'' she heaved again, "Happened. I just want to go home."

Okay, I'll get you home. Um..." Bella pulled out her phone and sent out a text to Alice. Within moments she showed up with Jasper, which allowed Bella to go search for Emmett.

Bella bumped into Jacob at the landing in the hallway, "Have you seen Emmett? I need his car keys."

"No," he said shaking his head. "Why? What's going on?" Jacob asked.

"Rose is sick and wants to go home."

"Oh, um," he frowned, "Did you check the basement?"

"No. Thanks."

Bella ran down to the basement and found Emmett hustling some sophomore at pool.

"Hey B," he yelled when he spotted her, "How would you like it if I doubled our winnings tonight?

"Screw the winnings. Give me your car keys."

"Sure," he said tentatively, and retrieved his keys from his back pocket. "What's going on?"

"Rose is sick."

"Is she alright?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Bella shrugged unsure as to how to reply. She had never seen Rose so panicked before.

Bella lack of reply was enough to make Emmett look worried. "I'm coming with you," he said dropping his cue and running ahead of Bella.

"Hey, what about our game?" cried the sophomore.

Emmett turned around and gave him a ferocious glare.

"Never mind."

When Bella and Emmett emerged from the basement, they bumped into Jacob again.

"You guys are leaving?"

"Yeah, sorry. But I had fun while it lasted," Emmett said in a rush and ran into the kitchen.

Bella gave Jacob an apologetic look, "I'm the only one that can drive her home."

"Well next time I expect you to stay until dawn. Oh, and I hope that Rose will feel better. I would tell her myself, but you know how I am about…"

Bella smiled, "Don't worry about it," she gave Jacob a quick peck on the cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She didn't notice Jessica and Lauren standing next to Jacob and their eyes bulged at Bella and Jacob's interaction. They stormed off into the living room without a goodbye.

**A/N: I know, there was no Edward this chapter, but he's will back in the next.**

**The mantra, "Boys will tell you things they think you want to hear," was taken from my sister-in-law. She's been teaching that to her daughter ever since she was twelve.**

**Until next time,**

**Iv **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Thank you for all your reviews and most importantly, thank you to my beta Lady Gywndenn. **

_I was lying in a burned out basement_

_With the full moon in my eyes._

_I was hoping for replacement_

_When the sun burst thru the sky._

_There was a band playing in my head_

_And I felt like getting high._

_I was thinking about what a_

_Friend had said_

_I was hoping it was a lie._

_Thinking about what a_

_Friend had said_

_I was hoping it was a lie._

_**Neil Young – After the Gold Rush**_

Bella sat down stairs in her den with Emmett. They were waiting to get some news about Rose from Alice.

The drive home was awful. The only time Rose spoke was when she asked Bella to pull over. Bella had to stop the jeep four times before she brought Rose safely home.

No one said a word as well. Everyone was too stunned with what happened because something like this never occurred. There were the odd times that one of them got sick from one too many, but it never ended being like the way Rose suffered.

"Maybe she got that stomach bug that has bee going around," Emmett said after breaking more than thirty minutes of silence since they got back.

"Maybe," Bella said, but she doubted it was a stomach bug.

It was already late and with no reply from Alice yet, Bella began to get worried. The way Rose reacted when she saw her charging down the stairs was familiar to Bella. She had seen that expression before back and in New York and she only hoped that wasn't the case, for Rose's sake.

"Alice should have called by now," Emmett said anxiously.

He had been like that ever since the car ride home, but it had gotten worse since he wasn't getting any solid answers to what was happening.

"If Alice doesn't call by one, I'll call her," Bella reassured.

They fell back into the miserable silence that overtook them minutes before. This time they watched the digital clock on her iPod.

At exactly 1:00 AM Bella picked up her phone. She couldn't wait any longer and when she looked over to Emmett, he was just about to lose it.

Before she located Alice in her contacts list there was a knock on the sliding glass door.

"See? There's nothing to worry about," Bella said more to comfort herself than Emmett, "That's probably Alice."

Bella quickly walked over to the back door. She couldn't see out side because the light from the inside was reflecting on it, but she opened it anyway expecting Alice.

"Edward?"

He was standing out side the door with a large box in his arms. His hair was disheveled more than normal but it worked for him at this hour.

"Hey, I saw your light on. Figured I would be able to drop this off now."

She looked at him perplexed, until she recognized the art supplies she asked for in the box, but she couldn't figure out why he'd come over now? At this time.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Yeah. Sure. Come on in." Bella quickly ushered him in. "Sorry I thought you were Alice."

"Hi Emmett," Edward called out when he noticed him sitting on the couch. Emmett grunted and completely ignored him.

Bella would have called Emmett on his rude hello, but he resumed to stare back into her phone, telepathically urging it to ring.

"Sorry, I didn't know you had company," Edward leaned in and whispered.

Bella sighed and shook her head. "Don't worry, you're not intruding, if anything you're a welcomed distraction," she gave him a weak smile.

Edward immediately frowned, "Is anything wrong? Sue said you would be gone for the night, so I was surprised to see the light on."

She led him into the den. "Yeah, um the party got cut short."

Bella was back to her nervous self when her thoughts returned to Rose. She began twisting her hands wishing the phone to ring with any news.

"Rose got sick," Bella stated.

"Rose?" Edward placed the box near a chair. "The girl from Hale Equestrian?"

"Yeah, we're just waiting for a call to find out if she okay." Bella hated sounding nonchalant about the situation, especially with what she knew.

"She had too much to drink," she answered before Edward had a chance to ask and sat back down.

Edward smirked, "That would do it," and sat himself down in an overstuffed chair.

Her phone buzzed and Emmett snapped it open to read the text, "R is asleep and I'm going to bed. Talk to you tomorrow. A.

"See? She's fine," Bella said forcing out a smile.

Emmett sighed in relief and leaned back on the couch, stretching himself out with a small smile.

Bella had reason to feel anxious about Rose's wellbeing, but what made Emmett react so strongly? Unless… She smiled to herself, when she figured that Emmett didn't even realize his true feelings for Rose. He had never had that kind of concern for anyone. Most of the time he told Bella to walk it off when she got sick.

"So, paint anything interesting lately, Edward?" Emmett asked, getting himself more comfortable on the couch.

That was not what Bella hoped for. Emmett said he would leave when he had word on Rose. Now she wanted him out, especially since Edward showed up, the tension Emmett was creating with his attitude towards him was ridiculous.

"Everyday?" Edward answered casually.

Emmett looked smug, and it looked to Bella like he would say something to egg him on, but she quickly cut in, "Oh before I forget…" she jumped up from her seat and ran to her room to get her wallet.

In the ten seconds it took her to locate it and run back into the main room she saw Emmett staring Edward down. Edward didn't seem to mind, if anything he looked amused by Emmett's behaviour.

Edward looked over to her and smiled, "Bella, I offered Sue to take the kids tomorrow to the bread and honey festival tomorrow, want to join us?"

"She already has plan with us," Emmett spat before Bella could reply.

"Emmett!"

He looked over to her and shrugged, "What? It's true," he muttered.

Bella shook her head at Emmett in disbelief. True or not he shouldn't have been such an ass.

Thankfully, Edward didn't seem affected by Emmett's tone. "We'll in that case I'll probably see you there," he said with a chuckle.

"Sure," Bella replied shyly, embarrassed by Emmett's behaviour.

Emmett then yawned exaggeratedly. "Well I'm getting tired," he stated. " I'm sure you are as well Bella. You should get some sleep."

She looked at Emmett confused and trying to understand what he was doing. It all fell into place when Bella noticed that he was staring at Edward the entire time he spoke. Emmett was trying to give him the social cue that he should leave, but Edward only smirked at him and remained in the chair.

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow," Bella said.

Emmett made no move to leave.

"Bye, Emmett." she prompted him again.

Emmett stood up, "Yeah forgot. I don't want to get you in to trouble." He turned towards Edward, "Charlie is really strict when it comes to Bella having late night visitors," he said matter of factly.

"Emmett, what are you talking about?" Bella asked, knowing very well what he was trying to do.

"I don't think he want to leave you alone with me," Edward commented.

"You got that right!" Emmett seethed.

Bella was hoping that Edward wouldn't pick up on what Emmett was trying to do, but that wasn't the case and it only embarrassed her more. Not having the energy to tell Emmett off and to save face, she decided to ignore him.

"Do you want anything to drink," She asked turning to Edward.

Edward smiled widely, and alleviated some tension in the room.

"Water would be good," he replied.

"I'll be right back. Come on Emmett I'll walk you out."

Emmett tried to stand his ground, but eventually relented when Bella shot him a look from the basement stairs.

She watched as Edward casually wave to Emmett before he stormed up the stairs after Bella.

"I'm not leaving you with him," he said when Bella was pushing him towards the front door.

"That's not your choice to make," she stated sharply, "And maybe if you had been a little nicer, you could have stayed."

"I don't trust him, Bella. He's sneaking around the house, coming in through the back door like some peeping tom."

Her jaw dropped at his comment. "Emmett, he's welcomed here."

Bella opened the front door and motioned him to walk out.

Emmett tried to protest, but she cut him off before he could say anything.

"Goodnight Emmett. I'll deal with you tomorrow," she said curtly and hoping he wouldn't fight her.

"Don't you dare come crying to me," he muttered and left.

Bella softly closed the door and sighed. No one was acting like themselves today, she thought as she padded to the kitchen to grab a couple of bottles of water. She reasoned that Emmett's worry was transferred from Rose to Bella and figured she would forgive him tomorrow—only if he apologized.

"Sorry about that," Bella said when she came back down with two bottled waters.

"No worries," he said sympathetically taking one of them.

Bella got herself comfortable on the couch across from him and yawned while she toyed with her iPod. It had been a long day for her.

"Did you have fun? He asked.

"When?" She looked up at him puzzled.

"At the party?" he laughed. "Tonight?"

"Oh, that. I guess." Bella had been so concerned about Rose that she overlooked where the incident took place.

"You guess?"

"Yeah, I had fun," she answered unconvincingly.

"Was it Rose getting sick?" he asked picking up on her tone.

Bella nodded, and frowned in worry when she recalled Rose shoving her out of the way and the fear in her eyes.

"A little hangover never hurt anyone," Edward reassured.

"I don't think she was drunk or at least drunk enough to get sick," she whispered.

Edward managed to read in between the lines, "Bella, What happened tonight?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

Edward was the only one that Bella felt she was able to talk to about this and at least get his opinion about it. Maybe she had read too much into it and Rose's reaction was because she didn't want to get sick in the middle of the room.

"Bella?" he said softly waiting for her reply.

"I think Rose might have been sexually assaulted," she mumbled.

Edward frowned, "Bella that's a very serious accusation. Why would you think that? Was there any physical evidence?"

Bella's eyes brimmed with tears and she shook her head quickly in reply. When she replayed it all in her head, there wasn't anything to indicate that something was wrong, except for Rose's eyes. Not a hair was out of place on Rose and she was wearing a highwaisted skirt with a sleeveless shirt tucked, and that was still intact.

"Then why would you assume something like that?" he asked moving from the chair to the couch to sit beside her.

"Her eyes. Her expression. I saw it once before… A friend of mine in New York was date raped. She ran to my place after for help and… I've never seen anyone afraid like that," she said looking up at Edward, unable to hide her own fear of what happened to her friend and now possibly Rose.

She felt Edward put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him to comfort her.

"Rose was so scared, she would have clawed through me if I hadn't move out of her way," Bella said somberly.

"Did you mention this to anyone else?"

"No. God no! Like you said it's an assumption, I don't want to worry anyone."

"Good. Keep it that way."

Bella pulled away from him and stared at Edward in disbelief.

"Do you want my advice or not?" he asked.

Bella nodded.

"First off," Edward started, "You don't know that it happened or even what happened, so you're right not to say anything. Secondly, if you do talk to anyone else about it there is a possibility of people in town finding out. Midland would go over a frenzy over something like this and it would only make things worse for Rose whether you are right about this or not.

"As for Rose, don't even mention it to her or push her. Hopefully nothing did happen, but if it had you need to respect her privacy until she comes to you or someone else.

"If what you're assuming is the case, would you have known who it was?

"There were almost a hundred people there." Bella slapped her hand to her forehead at the realization, "It could have been anyone."

"Yes, but it's still an assumption," Edward said reassuringly, "You could be wrong."

"But I don't jump to conclusions and also, I don't think it's right to stay quite."

"It may not be, Bella, but there's nothing you can do until Rose comes to you or until you know for sure."

She nodded solemnly. Although she didn't like the idea of keeping silent, she knew Edward was right.

She glanced at Edward and gave her a small smile, even though concern still lined his face.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's not me you should worry about."

"I think it is," he said under his breath.

She wanted to know what he meant by that, but he acted like the statement went unheard.

Footsteps sounded from upstairs and Edward quickly got up from the couch. "It's late, I should get going."

She watched as he went over to the sliding door, and then immediately remembered why Edward was there in the first place.

"Wait!" she said jumping up from the couch and grabbing her wallet from the coffee table, "how much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving her off.

"But-"

"Think of it as an early birthday present."

"How did you-"

"Lucky guess," he smirked

"That's too much," she protested.

He ignored her and slide the door open, "don't forget to lock up behind me."

She was bewildered at how easily he waved off her offer to pay him back for the art supplies. There was at least two hundred dollars worth of products lying inside the cardboard box that he brought in.

Bella tried again to reason with him before he closed the door behind him, but he cut her off again. "Can you do one favor Bella?"

She nodded dumbly. Edward said her name many times, but she would never tire from it or would she not respond to it when he used it.

"Next time Jacob has a party like that, try to stay home."

"Why?"

"It's risky enough to go to parties that big when you know the people there, but with strangers and alcohol involved… for yours and Rose's sake I do hope you're wrong, but I'm afraid that there is a small chance that you might be right."

Edward left before she had time to respond. She had confided in him, hoping that he would tell her that she was completely wrong, but that wasn't the case and now, Bella was left to worry about Rose, for the rest of the night by herself.

Bella had a restless night sleep. She racked her brain replaying the incident over and over again, but there was more to prove than to disprove her assumption. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she did jump to a conclusion, but she would never know because she wouldn't approach Rose about it until she came to her.

The following morning Bella woke up tired. She quickly showered and headed for Rose's house. She earned a couple of questions from Sue before she left since she wasn't expecting to see Bella home so early.

Bella just told her that the party was a bust and decided to come home. Her reply was convincing enough that Bella was able to leave without more questions thrown her way.

When she got Jasper and Rose's house, Rose was still asleep

She spoke with Alice and she told Bella that they wouldn't be going to the bread and honey festival since Rose would be hung over. Bella was a little upset of the change of plans, but she understood that Jasper didn't want to leave his twin and Alice didn't want to be separated from Jasper.

Bella wanted to talk to Alice about last night, and what she thought had happened, but Bella knew better and kept quiet. She quickly said goodbye and decided to go over to Emmett's house earlier than she had planned.

When she got there, Emmett was in a foul mood, but the moment he found out that Edward left only fifteen minutes after him, he seemed to be less agitated.

For the sake of turning a bad into a worse one, she kept quite about Emmett's dislike towards Edward. Knowing how stubborn Emmett was, she needed to conserve her energy for that argument.

By three o'clock Bella and Emmett made their way down to the fair grounds. The festival was held beside the community centre that over looked the river.

The bread and honey festival was an annual event that was held during the Fourth of July weekend and only got its name because fifty years ago they started serving free bread and honey to entice people to go to the town fair. To this day the tradition stuck.

Bella and Emmett skipped the free bread and honey and went straight to the ticket booth to purchase a handful of ride tickets. Jacob soon found them and Bella was quickly disappointed that she would end up the fifth wheel when Jacob brought Lauren and Jessica with him.

Jacob didn't seem too upset that the others were not going to make it, but he did hope that Rose would feel better soon.

There wasn't much for thrill rides when it came to the festival. But what the carnies lacked, they made up with rides of the spinning variety. Those rides were used to test Bella's and her friends' equilibrium endurance, thereby making the Tornado, Music Express and The Rotor focal rides for them.

"Count me out on this one," Bella said when everyone decided to take a few spins on the Music Express that played really bad 80's pop metal.

Bella had survived the Rotor three times in a row. She had no problem being stuck to the wall caused by the gravity force due to spinning, and the Music Express would be a walk in the park for her. But the fact was, it was a two seater and she didn't want to creates conflict by forcing someone to sit alone.

"Come on Bella. It's not like you to miss out on a ride," Jacob urged, "I'm sure you can handle it better then all of us combined."

"Exactly! I have nothing to prove. You, on the other hand do, so go," she said lightly.

Lauren called for Jacob in a sugary voice and Bella laughed when she looked over to Emmett who had the sheer look of contempt across his face; Jessica, who was oblivious to Emmett's expression, snuggled extra close to him.

"Lauren can always go on by herself," Jacob said, and brought her attention back to him, "You don't have to be the fifth wheel."

"I know that," she replied, but she wasn't in the mood for Lauren's glares for the rest of the day if Bella took her place on the ride. "Look, don't worry about it. I'll be fine," she concluded.

The lines where short and there was very little turn around, the majority of people stayed on after issuing the operator more ride tickets from their seats.

After the ride started for the third time with everyone still on, Bella got tired of waiting and decided to wander around.

After a few minutes of walking she spotted Leah and Seth with Edward. They were standing right beside him as Edward played skee ball. Leah started to jump up and down. It appeared that Edward had won a prize for them. In a matter if moments, Leah and Seth were both picking out two of the larger stuffed toys from the games dealer.

Bella wasn't sure if she should approach him, and eventually would have decided against it if he hadn't turned around and noticed her.

He smiled and waved. Bella lifted her arm to wave back, but before she had a chance to acknowledge him bare arms slithered around her torso. One hand slide down and rested comfortably low on her pelvic bone and the other held her mid-drift firmly with a thumb sweeping against the under side of her breast.

She tried to pull away from the intruder, but he just pulled her closer to him and nuzzled her neck.

"There you are. We didn't know where you ran off to," Jacob murmured in her ear.

Bella was livid. This time she gathered more force and managed to pull herself away from him. He had never in life laid a hand on her so seductively.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bella screamed and slapped him hard in the chest. It was only then that she noticed that Jacob wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Easy Bella," he chuckled, "I'm helping you out. You know? Make him jealous."

"What—why?—I don't—Agghh!" she was at a loss for words and hit him again, "You're officially a jack ass."

"Jack ass or not, my plan worked."

"What are you talking…" Bella turned towards where Edward was and saw that he was nowhere to be seen.

She turned back to Jacob angry beyond belief. "Don't ever touch me like that again," she spat.

"I was wrong and I'm sorry. Please forgive me," Jacob pouted.

Bella still saw the mischief in his eyes. Jacob was far from sorry; it looked to her as he was still enjoying the reaction he got out of her.

"Don't push your luck. I'm too pissed off to see any of your charm. I'll see you later."

Bella turned around to storm off, but she walked right into Emmett and almost lost her balance.

Emmett steadied her, "Hey, where are you going?"

"To go find Edward, " Bella said pulling away from him.

"Why?" Emmett growled.

"I wouldn't go there, Emmett," Jacob chuckled.

"You," Bella pointed to Jacob, "Get over yourself. And you," she said pointing at Emmett, "Stop acting like Edward is a piece of scum. I'm sick of it! You don't even know him!"

"And you do?" Emmett retorted.

"No, but at least I'm giving him a chance to get to know him."

She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Lauren and Jessica were staring wide eyed at Bella's out burst.

"They're all yours," she told them and stormed off to search for Edward.

**A/N: So, what do you think? Please trust me with this story. I know it's a slow start, but once the story reaches its critical point… well… please trust me. **

**If you have any ideas of what you think will happen, please let me know. I love to hear the readers' thoughts of where this story is going.**


	8. Chapter 8

13

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to SM. The all human world that the character play in, belong to imperial violets.**

**A/N: It's been a while. Thanks again to all the readers who have reviewed and/or put me in their alerts/favs.**

**And most importantly I need to thank my dear beta **Lady Gwynedd, for her super quick and awesome beta'ing

**Enjoy,**

**iv**

**CHAPTER 8**

_Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty,_

_Sounds of their breath fades with the light._

_I think about the loveless fascination,_

_Under the milky way tonight._

_Wish I knew what you were looking for._

_Might have known what you would find._

_And its something quite peculiar,_

_Something that's shimmering and white._

_Leads you here despite your destination,_

_Under the milky way tonight._

_**The Church – Under the Milky Way**_

While listening to her iPod, Bella sat on the front porch that evening thinking about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

Her eyes kept ghosting over Edward's driveway, hoping that his truck would miraculously appear out of nowhere. She still hadn't seen him after she gave up looking for him at the fair grounds a few hours ago.

When she got back home earlier, Leah and Seth were already there and Edward's truck was gone. She had no idea what to think. Was he mad at her or, disappointed? She felt like she needed to explain herself to him, but something told her that he wouldn't really care for an explanation.

She was furious at Jacob for putting her in this situation. How could he have done that? He knew better! Although it was never said, there was an invisible line between the two of them that was never crossed… until tonight. What made it worse was that he knew what he was doing and did it anyway. The ass managed to single her out and made her feel uncomfortable. He had never touched her like that, even when they were teasing Lauren and Jessica with false attention towards one another.

Things had definitely changed between them. Now she had another thing to add to the list of changes that had happened in Midland, a town that was not supposed to change. Charlie seemed very guarded lately and Sue didn't act like herself even if Bella considered Sue's pregnancy into the equation. Emmett had turned into a jerk and Lauren and Jessica had become meaner. The only two changes that Bella accepted was Edward being here and the fact that Jasper and Alice were finally together. Even if it meant that she saw less of them, she was happy for the couple.

Bella was startled out of her thoughts when Charlie sat down beside her and held out a fleece blanket. She quickly took out one of her ear buds in order to hear him.

"You could use this, it's getting cooler," he said handing Bella the blanket.

"Thanks." Bella quickly wrapped the blanket around her, only realizing then how cool it had gotten. She resumed her original position and stared at the moon

"I've never seen you this idle before, Bella, is anything the matter?"

"Nothing really, just thinking," she hummed.

"Anything in particular?" he asked, trying to engage her in a conversation.

Bella looked over at Charlie and shrugged she didn't feel like talking to Charlie at the moment, even though he looked eager to have a father daughter talk and offer up advice.

"I just had a bad day and I really want to forget about it."

Charlie nodded, and knew not to pry any further. Instead, he just sat with her and kept her company while Bella's thoughts drifted all over.

"I can't believe so much has changed over the past year," Bella whispered to herself, forgetting that Charlie was beside her.

"Here, in Midland?" Charlie asked, startling her again.

Bella nodded slightly.

"Everything changes, Bella, sometimes you don't notice it because you change right a long with it. Other times you take a different route… that's when you notice the differences."

"I'm still me," she grumbled.

Charlie chuckled. "Yes, you're still you, but you have changed."

"How so?" she asked skeptically.

"Well, first you're not my baby girl secondly, you're old enough to make your own choices. Choices that take you in different directions that other people didn't expect you to go. Hence, _change_."

Bella shook her head, "I don't like."

"You think I like the fact that my daughter is going off to school to start an independent life away from her family? But, that's life and we need to adapt in order to survive."

Bella rolled her eyes at Charlie.

"I'm being serious here," he replied defensively.

Bella smiled at him, "No, you're being a dad."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I just missed this," she replied waving her hand between the two of them.

"Me too, Bella."

Her father was about to say something else when Leah and Seth ran out the door and interrupted them.

"Daddy, let's go! The fireworks are going to start soon," Leah said in an urgent voice, obviously not wanting to miss a thing.

"Alright, alright," Charlie laughed and got up from his seat beside Bella. "Are interested in coming with us to see the fireworks," he asked.

"No, I'm too tired and besides," she said stifling a yawn, "I'll be able to see some of it from here."

Charlie laughed and confirmed her fatigue. "I don't think you'll make it more than halfway through the show."

Sue ushered Seth and Leah, who were waiting impatiently, off the front porch.

"Goodnight, Bella," she called out to her.

Bella acknowledged her with a smile and a wave.

"Dad! Let's go!" Leah yelled, before Sue scolded her.

"Goodnight honey," Charlie said and kissed her on the top of her head, probably out of habit from having two small kids again, "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't. Goodnight, Dad."

She watched the happy family walk down the street until the disappeared from sight by turning the corner.

As tired as Bella was, she had too much to think about that she gave up her attempt to go to bed, knowing it would be in vain because she already knew she would have another sleepless night ahead of her. She also gave up waiting for Edward. It was the fourth of July, so he probably would get back late.

She sat and listened to the quiet. Having had enough after a few minutes, she put her ear buds back in, wrapped the blanket around her, and with a huff decided to walk to the Town Hall to join the fourth of July festivities.

On here way there, she hoped that she would bump into Alice and hopefully pull her away from Jasper long enough to talk to her. If not, maybe Rose would be around to talk to and at the same time disprove Bella's theory by acknowledging that she did have too much too drink last night.

Halfway to town, the eruption from the fireworks display started. The loud cracks and pops, accompanied by the burst and streams of various colors lit up the night sky. She smiled with amazement at the simplicity that something so old could create something so grand.

She began to hear the 'ohhs' and 'ahhs', when she approached the Town Hall.

While the fireworks were going off, the people of Midland congregated on the green outside the hall.

Bella saw a few people from town that she recognized and could have easily joined their company, but she wasn't in the mood to speak with anyone. Instead, she stayed off to the side hid under one of the old maple trees that lined the perimeter of the property.

She sat down and took out her iPod to choose some songs from her playlist to accompany the fire works.

Bella was content for a while until a figure a few trees away grabbed her attention. Victoria Hewitt, an old neighbor of hers, was standing there by herself, looking disappointed. She was a year older than Bella, but they did go to high school together even after she moved from town three years ago.

Before Bella got up to approach her to say hi, Victoria's face lit up in a genuine smile. Bella turned towards her gaze to an approaching figure, who soon turned out to be Edward.

He drew closer to Victoria sheepishly and they exchange a few words. Unfortunately, the blasts from the fireworks and the fact that they were practically whispering, didn't allow for Bella to make out a word they said to each other.

Victoria coyly pulled Edward by his shirt and carefully backed away into the maple. Judging by the body language, Bella didn't need to hear them to know what they intended. They were in a game of lust.

Edward had her blocked between the tree and him, playing with a strand of her red curly hair.

So that was Edward's type, Bella thought to herself. Victoria wasn't pretty or cute, like Bella was, she was beautiful and completely opposite in physic to Bella's. She was tall, curvy, and had a snow-white complexion. There wasn't even one freckle on that girl probably from diligently protecting herself from any sun damage from the day she was born. Bella also knew that she had emerald green eyes that matched Edwards, even though it was to dark and too far to see.

Bella didn't want to watch what was happening. Not only did she feeling like a peeping Tom, encroaching on their privacy, but also, she was getting a little jealous and she knew that she couldn't express that feeling. Edward and Bella had nothing between them other than a platonic, neighborly relationship.

She wanted to leave—wanted to leave them alone in the seclusion they thought they had. But if she stood up now, Edward would notice her and it would only add to her embarrassment.

Bella had no other choice but to set her eyes on the sky to watch the fireworks and pretend that she hadn't even noticed them in the first place. As much as she tried, every now and again, some movement passed in her peripheral vision, which forced Bella to turn her head, only to see them with their hands all over each other.

Eventually, it became too much and finally an opportune moment came when they were heavily making out and Edward's back faced Bella.

She wrapped herself tighter in her blanket, to further conceal herself and got up, moving very quickly to distance herself from the couple.

When she was far enough away, she turned her head back to determine is she was noticed by them. Of course she wasn't. Victoria was busy sucking Edward's face, and Edward was groping her ass with one hand, while the other was up the back of her shirt.

Bella must have stared too long when she continually moved away from them and it caused her to bump into a hard body.

"Sorry." She mumbled and turned away from the body without looking who it was. She was embarrassed enough.

She heard the familiar amusement in the voice right away.

"Smart guy. I didn't think he'd fight fire with fire," Jacob said, "I guess all's fair in love and war. How about we beat him at his own game."

Before Bella had a chance to protest, Jacob embraced her in a tight hug. It wasn't as bad as before, but she was still furious with him.

"I told you not to touch me," She yelled, removing herself from his embrace.

"Shit, Bella, now I'm really in trouble," he stated.

Yes, you are. I'm still mad at you!"

"That's not what I meant."

"Bella?" Edward called out to her before she had a chance to ask Jacob what he meant.

She quickly turned around, and forced herself not to blush. "Edward, hi," she choked out, hoping she was far enough away from their spot so it wouldn't look obvious that she saw them.

"Is everything alright?" Edward asked, while he looked at Jacob accusingly.

"Y- yeah," she sputtered.

"You sure? I heard you scream." His eyes were on hers now, staring intently and waiting for her to tell the truth.

"Yeah, I'm sure – Jake… Just, um… he startled me."

He looked unconvinced, especially when Jacob tried to create a united front and took a hold of Bella's hand only to have Bella quickly pull away from him.

Edward sighed and came closer to her. "Can you excuse of for a moment?" he asked Jacob, although it sounded like a demand.

Jacob wordlessly backed away with his hands raised in surrender.

Bella didn't know what Edward wanted from her. Was he going to ask her if she saw anything? Just thinking about it caused her to blush and her embarrassment grew stronger from the awkward situation.

When Edward felt that Jacob was out of earshot, he continued, "Bella," he said calmly, but his jaw was clenched in anger, telling a Bella that he was mad at something, "Don't make excuses for him. You know better than that. If he did anything you didn't like, tell me now and I'll take care of it."

Bella looked back at Jacob. Yes, he did do something that she didn't like, but it wasn't something that was worth Jacob getting beat up over, and with Edward's body language, she did believe that was his intent.

"No, I put him in his place already for startling me," she replied, failing to even convince herself.

He nodded, "Let me drive you home then."

"No. I'm fine, really."

Bella distracted herself from his concerned expression by looking over his shoulder. She saw Victoria standing a few yards away from them looking worriedly at her. Bella gave her a meek smile and half wave to let her know she was okay, before she focused back on Edward.

"Your girlfriend is waiting for you," Bella told him as evenly as possible.

Edward glanced over his shoulder. "She's n… never mind. Are you sure you don't need a drive home?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," she answered quietly.

Edward nodded more so to acknowledge her stubbornness than her answer. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bella." He turned to walk away, but he abruptly stopped and turned back. "Can I see your cell phone for a second?"

Without asking why, she hesitantly handed it to him.

"I want you to call me if you need me," he told her when he was done with her phone and handed it back with his number programmed in it. Edward took a looked over at Jacob and then back down at Bella. "I meant it."

"Okay."

Edward went back to Victoria, and wave one last time to Bella before he threw an arm over her shoulder and walked away somewhere more private.

"Looks like you got his number, that's a good start," Jacob said as he approached her.

"Shut it, Jake," she said and slapped him on the back of his head, "He was ready to kick your ass."

"I know, so, thanks for that."

They stood their silently together, looking at the people milling about. The firework show was over and people were saying their goodbyes and getting ready to go home.

"We cool?" Jacob asked her seriously.

Bella sighed. "Ask me again tomorrow."

"How about tonight?" he retorted, "Come over to my house tonight. Lauren and Jessica are at the lake tonight so it will be just the six of us."

"Rose is going to be there?" Bella asked surprised.

"Of course, why wouldn't she?"

"I thought…"

"Bella, you worry too much," he chuckled. "So are you in?"

"No. I'll see you tomorrow Jake."

He nodded with disappointment and didn't bother persuading her any further, "Goodnight Bella," he said as she walked away.

On her way back she bumped into Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rose, who looked a lot better from the night before. When Alice asked her if she was joining them Bella made her excuse that she was tired and needed to get to bed.

Bella didn't fail to notice the concerned look on Emmett's face when she left them, but it was only halfway home that she realized that Edward looked at her the same way tonight. It was then that she realized that not only was she not Edward's type, but there wasn't even the smallest chance of getting together. Edward was concerned for her the same way that Emmett was and that was as friend and protector.

**A/N:**

**So what did you think? looks like Bella was wrong about Rose and Edward doesn't seem interested in Bella. The poor girl can't get break, or maybe she will in the next chapter. How does a nice day by the lake with Edward next chapter? Let me know.**

**updates and information:**

**I have youtube links to all the songs featured in this story, check them out. Also, in the next little bit I'll be posting links to samples of the art the Edward and Bella paint.**

**For those of you on Story Alert, I have started two new stories. The summaries and prologues to **_**Austenesque **_**and **_**Shelter from the Storm **_**can be found in my stories**_**.**_

**Finally, **_**Law of Superposition**_** is complete and I have it now edited and posted over at Twilighted. A special thank you goes out to my Validation Beta Robbsweetangel for the super quick validations. **

**I have nothing more to say.**

**Until next time,**

**iv **


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